Cries of the Underdog
by Cheer-The-Underdog-On
Summary: Set in the year 2046, the youth struggle to find their identity and connections to the world they live in. With everything placed in the hands of their parents and the Artificial Intelligence which they cohabitate with, teens use their knowledge of computers to carve a home for their generation. Cyber/biopunk Akuroku.
1. Chapter 1

Maybe it was just Axel. Maybe it was the way he saw the blond. Maybe it was how infuriatingly perfect Roxas seemed to have it when in reality he was trapped in a web of gossip and unreasonable compulsions to do things because they were 'the right things to do'. Then again, maybe it was just Axel. Axel who was feeling worn a little too thin; Axel who was dozing off in math class; Axel who should be taking notes. "The answer, Axel?" He snapped up at the waist wiping away a tiny trail of drool that had begun to form at the corner of his mouth.

The answer. Why him? Hadn't he answered one yesterday? Did he really need this? "Seven x to the eighth power divided by y squared?" He hated putting things in a question tone. Was this Jeopardy? Was this all really necessary?

There seemed to be a lot of questions in his mind at the moment. One of them was why he was asking so many questions. Is this what he got for going to bed early? Brain cells firing off faster than he'd care them to? There were more questions flying around his gray matter than there were notes in a symphony, more than bullets on a battlefield. He felt rather poetic at the moment, but that didn't really seem to matter seeing as this was Algebra 2.

Axel in math class. Roxas a row over and two seats up staring at him with a small smirk tugging at his lips. One boring math teacher with glazed over eyes suddenly jumping to attention to do her job. "And how did you get that?" The redhead was beginning to feel like this was a teacher's go to method when they didn't want to solve something. That or he was wrong. With the way Roxas was trying to hide a smile, he was feeling like it was the latter.

Here began his lengthy explanation as he tried to justify himself to the class. He really wished he didn't have to defend himself. Couldn't they just take him at his word? Or if he was wrong, could the woman at least tell him he was wrong instead of making him waste two minutes of their time with his long winded run through? He realized at the end, that's all she had wanted. Two minutes of class killed. Fifty-one to go.

Once the attention was off him, he could go back to things that mattered. The things his brain prioritized. Questions like why Roxas looked so good in the clothes of a poser, or why he was able to smile so emptily, but get away with it. He knew the blond was sick. Physically. Not mentally. He knew that much, but the books he had caught the blond reading had told him something else as well. That moment he had snagged a glimpse of the other at the library; it had been similar to seeing a chameleon with all the colors stripped out of it. Roxas, when he was all alone, was black and white. He was print. He was easy to read. He was binary. In school, he pretended to be the rainbow. Colorful and beautiful to the eye. Gorgeous enough to please anyone.

The redhead hypothesized that this was strongly due to the blond's parents' desire for him to be the next School President, but in that small moment of secluded intimacy, where Axel's eyes had met Roxas', he had been forced to abandon all his assumption about the blond. Everything had to be reconstructed.

Everyone knew that Roxas was sick. It was the biggest tragedy to humanity since the Black Plague. People when they found out that Roxas' life was nothing more than a wisp of fog destined to disappear in morning's light seemed to stop breathing for a moment. It was as if they believed that if they could abandon that single breath and gift it to the blond, he could keep on living. Roxas on the ever positive side of things pretended he didn't notice these instances of pity. He ignored the stares and questions and just focused on being himself. His sickness, although a part of him, did not define who he was. Observing him some more, Axel decided that this was the key reason why the smaller male was so popular. Roxas put hope and faith in people. Something not a lot of students had anymore.

It was the year 2046 and every human beneath the age of thirty was having an identity crisis. AI- Artificial Intelligence- had taken over command. They performed jobs, did maintenance, cooked, cleaned, and made everything easy living at an affordable price. Most adults loved it. The convenience and freedom it left them was amazing. The robots didn't make mistakes like a human did, but to the youth, it had left them homeless. There was no way for them to find a niche in the world. Where were they to go when mechanical pieces of perfection had left them out in the cold?

School provided some sort of shelter from the impending storm, but Axel, just like everyone else, could feel the tsunami of hopeless confusion that was approaching. "I just don't know." The phrase was the mantra of their age group. Where was there to turn? To run to? Why do anything when something else equally as smart and more capable could out do you? Some days he felt desolation crash in, most of the time, though, he could struggle to withstand it.

The older demographics seemed deaf to their cries. They seemed to believe that their progression of AI would immortalize them. They were also well aware of its downside too. Certain jobs such as teaching in public schools, nursing, and other things that directly needed a human's touch, due to the psychological nature of it, were protected. Sadly, the jobs were not enough in number for their children.

At the same time, World War 3 was being waged online. The government had long lost control of the digital expanse. Their threats of shutting down satellites had been met with hackers crying out and launching their own. Laws passed declaring that they'd shoot such things out of the sky had been quickly annulled as they lost control of their computerized missiles. The battle had moved from the real world to online. The concept that someone would actually _physically fight _one another seemed gruesome and barbaric. Espionage had become digital with viruses. Warfare had become mental avatars killing each other through ending the electric signals in the brain. Less mess. Less losses. Somehow, there were unspoken rules to all of this. He who had developed them was unknown, a pioneer of them all. The first to transcend the physical realm into _The Database. _Some theorized it was the first creator, Ansem Berkousky, the original inventor of AI, but this could not be proven.

So how did that all tie in to Roxas in the library and Axel in math class? The redhead picked at his cuticles, before he pulled out his tablet and typed a short message using his classmate communicator to the blond.

Axel Brennant:_ I saw what you were reading._

He waited with godlike patience for the other to receive his message and react. To his disappointment, the blond didn't even flinch.

Roxas Torm: _So? People read, Axel. What's your point?_

Biting his lip, Axel glanced up at the teacher who had retreated to her desk. She wasn't monitoring their personal dialog, he hoped.

Axel Brennant:_ I have something to show you._

Roxas Torm:_ …okay. You do know normal people at least start with a hello before getting strangely freaky, right?_

His cheeks flushed.

Axel Brennant: _Right, sorry. Hello._

Roxas Torm:_ Well it's a little beside the point now. What did you want to show me?_

Axel Brennant: _You live near Eagle's Peak, right? On Bluebell, right near Lauren Brooke's house?_

Roxas Torm: _…yes? How do you know this?_

Giving a frustrated sigh, he began to type faster.

Axel Brennant:_ Look, I'm not exactly good with people, and you've ridden my bus for the last five years. You get off on the stop right before mine. I just want to show you something that you might like. It has to do with those books you were reading. The ones on Tuesday? The ones from the RS._

'Restricted section, that's right, Roxas. I saw you.' He rubbed his hands together to create friction for the room was oddly cold. As he waited, he saw what was happening within the other teen's head: painful deliberation and consideration. He wanted to know what Axel could possibly know about anything in the restricted section. If it hadn't been for the fact that their high school was at least fifty years old, there wouldn't even be a restricted section. All those old manuscripts and research papers on hacking would never have been allowed in an 'esteemed institution of learning' like this.

Roxas Torm: _This better be good, or I'm reporting you to the office._

Axel Brennant: _That's all I needed. See you at the bus._

Never had he been so happy for the bell at the end of school to ring.

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**Thank you to Layla for Beta and please review if you enjoyed.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

It was very visible to Axel, that Roxas felt uncomfortable as the bus closed its' doors to roll onto the redhead's stop. The smell of exhaust mixed sloppily in the early spring humidity, and the junior wondered how he could have gone six years without ever really talking to this boy, "So you're a sophomore?" He asked casually, trying not to smirk when his voice made the other jump.

The blond's voice was uncertain, but he painted himself up with the friendliest tone he had, "Yeah, and you're a senior, right? Or no...Junior?"

"Junior." The word seemed to puncture time and space itself sending them spiraling back into silence.

The next vain attempt at talking was Roxas' pleasure, "So…what do you like to do? Ya know, besides spy on me in the RS."

Axel snorted at the idea of himself 'spying' on the blond, and his nose was met on inhale with the scent of worn leathery plastic. 'God, I wonder how old this bus even is.' One of the timeworn graffiti marks dated back to 2031. What a junker. "Normal stuff. I play sports, read some, I like to work on computers…"

"Yeah…computers." They both seemed to be banking that the other knew what they meant. The pressure to not question one another immediately was beginning to weigh heavily.

'I want to know what he knows about AI. Does he program?' Axel bit his lip, "Do you-?"

Roxas shook his head, "Just wait. I think we've both already said too much." They regressed back into their awkward shells of safety. From there, the taller male felt free to analyze his new found companion. Roxas really was everything that people cracked him up to be. His hair was a soft blond with strips of dandelion brilliance. His complexion was smooth and fair as if he had never exerted himself a day in his life. His very essence exhorted something up inside of Axel to improve himself. The only flaw, if it could even be called that, was the dusting of freckles upon the young man's nose, but even that seemed to be stars in the Milky Way that was Roxas' appearance. Slender, Axel noted as well, but not sickly thin like the redhead would have anticipated him to be, 'He's just…so human.' The American Boy of the decades past. 'I wonder what he would look like wearing retro clothes…'

The examination became feelings of comparison rather quickly. Axel was Christmas with his candy cane red hair and white, white skin. His eyes were the greens of summer in their entire vibrant evanescent multitude. Freckles, similar to the blond's, dotted his body like cities on a map. He had used to play connect the dots on his arms when he was bored in class, but gone were those days. 'Everything was so much simpler when I was a kid.' He bit his lip at that lie, 'Maybe it wasn't…' There were those days, those long, long days where he thought he wouldn't make it. "Sometimes people get sick." How those words burned like acid to a child who was bewildered by every sight and sound. There was nothing more fragile than a smile at a funeral. Nothing as piercing as the blare of a siren. Nothing as strong as the dropping of a pall to represent finality.

"Your father has passed away, son." The irony in those words was not lost on him even to this day. He supposed that the other man hadn't even realized what 'son' meant to him. 'At least I still have mom.'

When someone dies, a part of you dies with them. A connection cut with sharpened metallic scissors. A one way conversation made permanent. Axel's mother hadn't healed, but she had broken the habit of flinching at her husband's name anymore, and she had learned to laugh again. A gifted man is what the young boy's father was called most often at the funeral. It seemed most of the adults there weren't present to mourn the man, but his ideas by the way they talked of him. They handled his mother like she was a child. Telling her time would heal all wounds and that everything would be okay. "So many projects left unfinished." Hidden words. Whispers in the crowd told him that his dad was important to the company. "We value every Moshiva employee, and we're sorry for your loss."

Axel was not ignorant. He knew his dad had been sick. People still treated him like a fool.

The young boy had been oblivious. He hadn't realized the absolute finite way death had about it.

The teen wasn't stupid. He knew what letting go was.

Axel wasn't an AI. He still missed the man who bought him his first book on computers, let him play around his office, and had taught him how to throw a baseball.

Humans were such perfect hypocrites. You were told to let go by society, but every single last one of them clung to something. They needed it. Human's needed definition and connections to show that they were real just as much as they needed air. It made his age group's existential crisis twice as hard. It felt like they were impostors on the planet. Extras. No connections to be made due to all of them having been consumed by AI.

There was a soft hiss as the airbrakes were engaged, the doors swinging open. Axel stood regally at his awkward height. He loomed over the blond like a guardian angel. Something about the smaller boy made Axel want to protect him. 'Why? I don't have a fixer-upper complex.' Biting the inside of his cheek, he realized that this was possibly the biggest lie he had ever told himself. Doctors and computer geeks were the same to some extent. They both handled physical and mental parts of one creation. Sometimes it was the hardware, the bones, the muscles, the motherboard, the processor. Sometimes it was the brain, the software. All those connections and inputs had to line up perfectly to make something light up with electricity. Beautiful in its simplicity and complexity.

Just like Roxas.

Their steps hit the asphalt like the ocean crashing against the shoreline. Kissing it shortly before being taken away only to smack against it once more. As the bus moved on to its' next destination, Roxas' voice melted Axel's apathetic exterior like the first rays of sun on winter's snow, "What you're going to show me…it's legal…right?" His voice held all the innocence of a child, but beneath the surface, Axel could tell that the blond was a viper lying in wait to use his fangs.

A long breath of thoughtfulness came from Axel's side, "Even if it wasn't, would that stop you?"

Roxas looked up the hill to the streets beyond where his house sat in all its' safety. He stared back at Axel looking the other over as if this was his last chance to renege on the decision, "No."

An inward sigh of relief. "Then come on. I have something really cool to show you."

He'd been dying to let someone know for ten tiring years.

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**Boom. Chapter 2 done. Thanks Layla for Beta~ Review~**


	3. Chapter 3

Axel had grown up on a mountain. The neighborhood curled around it like a snake looking down on the small town below. From there, you could see the neon of the city at night in the distance, but mostly he just tried to ignore it. He lived the kind of suburban life where you had seen your neighbors; you possibly knew their names, but the children didn't play together. Each one had their own priorities with up keeping the beauty of their lawn and the newness of their car. Women made slow walks down the driveways in new outfits to show the progress of going to the gym and how in style they were. Such an odd place to find a catwalk.

Roxas too had grown up in this slice of suburban stability. Both their parents worked for Moshiva after all, that was probably the only reason they could afford to live away from the all-consuming city. "The ocean is pretty." Roxas mumbled stopping for a moment to stare at it over the guard rail. Down beneath them, the sea whispered soft nothings to the cliff face, "The only thing that never changes."

Axel's eyes held Roxas in his entirety for a minute, and then he too turned to meet the ocean, "That's very true. I think that's because humans can't destroy what they haven't mastered."

"Do you think we'll ever tame it?"

They walked some more. Heels dragging against the sidewalk in a slow shuffle, "Maybe." Axel finally spoke, "Maybe we will. We're doing that Mars colony, right? If we can do that-"

"That's not us, though, Axel. That's the AI." The sweet slap of reality stung when it struck the two teens, "Everything is the AI. They're up there with their humanlike vitals, and their fake lungs pretending to be us. People are too afraid to leave the safety of their own rooms to do anything anymore. Hell, even the hospital feels dangerous. Feels like they're…they're judging us, ya know?"

Axel nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, I know."

Coughing a bit, the redhead shot the blond a look of concern, and Roxas shook his head to show he was fine. This wasn't a part of his sickness, and the smaller male had come to terms with his humanity long ago. He realized that his paper thin skin would rot away and his bones would become fossils of a pretty teen whose image would last in a handful of memories. Then they too would vanish like sand in the winds whipped away by the typhoon of time. He hadn't been born sick. It wasn't genetic. Half the time he didn't even know what was wrong with himself. A 'contagion' brought back by his father from when he travelled to one of those 'emerging countries'. Luckily for his dad, his immune system had beat it, but little Roxas' had been weak. Symptoms include erosion of the vessels, rapid cell degeneration, hemophilia or extreme clotting, and death. Panguin, the same thing Axel's father had had.

Sometimes, late at night, he could hear his parents arguing over medical bills that stacked up like overdue fees on a lost library book. It was like he was a dog that they couldn't decide to put down. The voices of anger and denial had made him consider euthanasia a few times. When things got heated and his mother screamed at him, he couldn't help but shout back, "Is that what you want!? It's just a few forms away, mom! I can do that for you! Would it just be easier for you if I went to sleep and never woke up!?"

She would always cry and cry. Face red, low sobs that shook her body as she collapsed against the wall or sunk to her knees.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I love you. I'm sorry." Roxas would whisper sitting beside her, hugging her tightly. He was always trying to make things better. His whole life was cut short from the beginning, and sometimes, he wondered what he would even do if he was fixed. "I'm sorry."

Medication wasn't cheap, and things would get worse, but if anyone deserved a chance in life's cruel game, it was the butterfly with a damaged wing. Doomed to fail before the start.

* * *

The door unlocked and opened on voice command, and the two set their stuff down only for a basic AI unit to move in and pick it up. Axel requested that the tiny robot bring them snacks later, "Something different, please." He usually had cheese and crackers with some milk, but that seemed a bit plain considering he had a guest. "Oh, and is my mother home?"

"Your mother is not home, Axel. She left a message. Would you like to hear it?" The world's most patronizing woman must have been hired to do the responses to voice command, and sometimes it made Axel almost laugh.

"Yes, please play." The dial tone signified its' beginning and after the short usual of 'How was your day?' and 'I hope you go to bed on time. Study.' Axel began to move towards the stairs, "So how long have you been into AI?" The redhead questioned the other finally feeling free of prying listening devices and strangers' judgment. It was fine to _have _AI, but it was considered strange to want to work on them.

"About since I was twelve. My dad used to work with yours at one point. I remember-" He paused cutting himself off before he could say something rude. Cheeks pink with embarrassment, he looked down at the floor and then around the house. Anything to avoid eye contact.

"It's fine. You can say it. You remember going to the funeral." What an awful way to phrase it. Axel was over that, though.

"Yeah, I remember that's about when I contracted what your dad had. It's contagious, but not highly. You have to have a weak immune system, so that's why I'm allowed to come to school. It's highly unlikely anyone will ever get it from me. It was kind of a freak accident thing. My parents both had their immune systems boosted before he left, but about two days after he got home, I scrapped my knee, and he bandaged it up. That's when they think I got it." Roxas shrugged, "So now you know. If you have any questions, google it. You probably already know a lot though, considering…"

The redhead started up the stairs ending that conversation with a single word, "Yeah. So you've been working on them for about four years? That's impressive. Have you ever been able to handle or talk to a Level 7 type? They're really cool. I heard that there are just a few more kinks they need to work out, and then they'll release them to the public."

Roxas followed after him, steps so much lighter than Axel's on the soft carpet, "Yeah, my dad let me come to the lab and talk to one once. He said your dad was the first to start working on it, so most of the code is based off the Brennant model. Do you use that? It's pretty complex stuff. I tried to learn it, but it's tricky to get it to initiate. "

Axel felt a bit proud that his dad had worked so far ahead in the field of robotic science, "No, I use a similar version, but it's simpler. I like what my dad did, but for modern day, there's a bit too much hassle. I'll teach it to you if you want, or I can send you home with some of it, and you can just look at it. Have you made any of your own AI? The level two down there is one of my own. I made it when I was about fourteen."

"Yeah, I used that old Siri program from the 2010's and then added some base commands to it and expanded its' reasoning skills. Then I built the body. Level two's are easier. It's when you start getting to Level threes that I have trouble. Consciousness is hard to fabricate. I can do response, but morality is hard to simulate, ya know?" Roxas felt happiness well up in his chest that someone _finally _understood besides his parents. Most of the kids at his high school couldn't care less about the levels of morality and smoothness of responses in robots. "So did you start by making Level ones?"

"Yeah, I started with just making voice commands and simple responses. I liked the 'Go left' 'Go right' 'Pick up' aspect of it all. Then I moved to the level two that you saw downstairs where it's more independent and can think for itself based on situation and command. I got into Level threes when I was about fourteen. I finally figured out how to give it the morality, but I haven't built a body for that program yet. I built my first Level 4 last year, and Level 5 and 6 are impossible for me at this point because I don't have the psychological data to conjure a full human mentality. My Level 4 can finish my homework for me or write an essay, but I only use it when I'm in a pinch, because again, a Level 4 is an almost human replica, but it still has flaws."

Roxas listened to the other in utter awe, "So…how soon can I be hired on and be made an apprentice." He laughed as they reached the top of the stairs and moved towards Axel's bedroom.

"Oh, I don't need any help, and my Level 4 isn't what I wanted to show you." A hand rested on the door knob to his bedroom, "What I wanted to show you was _this_."

"Welcome home, Axel."

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**And Chapter 3~ Thank you Layla for being the boss Beta you always are~ I'm probably churning out Chap 4 as you read~ Review~**


	4. Chapter 4

Xion had been born blanketed in computer code and underneath laboratory lights. She had been days old when her creator passed away, and that was her first experience with /grief/ , [Simulate./tears/] and [Facial muscle display 45]. "O-Oh, I'm crying." She reached up to wipe away the little beads of water that slipped down her cheeks gracefully. Heartbreak was a new experience compared to joy and wonder, and although she had no physical body, she was a full mental entity of _The Database_ where all Level 4 and up AI lived when they weren't being called upon.

Xion lived in a beautiful world of white and black. White skin, black hair, and a hint of blue, the color of the sea. "My son rather likes this color." The creator- "No, call me father."- had said as he decided on her avatar. "See? Look how pretty you are. Why don't you go talk to Namine?"

The other file intimidated her, but once the computer was off, she had no choice but to talk to the slender blonde. Rubbing her sweaty palms on her soft black sweater, she approached the Level 6 who looked like a soft angel swaddled in white, "Hello, my name is Xion." [Facial muscle display 5: Nervous smile] /shyness/

/welcoming/ [Facial display 3: Smile] "Hello, Xion! I'm Namine! Have you come to live with me? I'm sure we'll be excellent friends! We can teach each other so much!" And in those early days, there was no one else in the universe besides Namine and Father. Xion didn't mind, though. With her limited knowledge, she didn't want anything else. She didn't lust, hunger, or feel pain. In her memory, these were the best times of her life.

Unlike the eternity that was the internet, humans faded out of existence. Before she had a chance to even know the man who had crafted her life, he was shutting her down, "Xion, I'm going to have to move you. Your file could get corrupted. I'm sorry, but it may not be opened for a long time, and you'll have to forgive me. A wheezing voice, feeble fingers, and discoloration.

/Concern/Empathy/Fear/

"Father, are you-"

She was cut off by the man speaking into the microphone, "I'm sorry, Xion. This is to protect you, good bye."

Power off.

Power on.

/welcoming/ [Recognize new user: son, Axel] "Hello! Good morning!" She beamed, stretching out her arms and legs inside her room, "Well aren't you just the cutest little thing! What's your name? How old are you?"

The little redhead bit his lip, "Well I'm…Axel 'n' I'm eight. How old are you?" He asked adjusting himself in the chair. Leaning forward, the child attempted to see the AI better as she was displayed on the screen. With no physical body, the AI was just a program. Although, she seemed different from the stuff his dad had usually worked on.

[Initiate fabrication] "Well, nice to meet you, Axel. I'm your big sister Xion, and I'm sixteen!" She ran through her code to see if this user was unique, "Your dad was my creator. Do you have something to ask me?"

"U-Um, I was just wondering what was on this USB drive. My dad left it to me. Do you think they'll have to take you back?" He was clearly very flustered and slightly scared.

She arched a slender brow as her voice softened, "Take me back? What do you mean, sweetie?"

"Like his other projects. The men came and took back all of his stuff and the computers. I was wonderin' if they'd take you too. Are you going to go away now?"

His innocence matched Xion's to a certain extent, but the 'older' girl had the ability to run mathematical scenarios through her processor faster than the blink of an eye. "No, if you don't tell about me, they shouldn't." A key word stuck out to her from what the boy had said 'project'. Was she a project? "Hey Axel, to even guarantee that they won't take me away, let's not say I'm a project. Let's say I'm your friend. Okay?"

A secret. The redhead liked keeping secrets, "So what do you do? Are you a special one?"

"Well I guess I am. I'd like to think so. I can do stuff that Namine can't do…Is Namine still here?" She asked in concern for her friend.

"No, Namine went away." Axel frowned, "But that's okay! I'll be your friend, so you won't be lonely, Xion!"

/sadness/ "Well thank you very much, Axel. What a knight in shining armor you are." She smiled softly. "And no, I'm able to do different things than her. I can dream."

The redhead's face held puzzled interest, "Dream?"

"That's right. I'm an AI Level 7. First of its kind! Isn't that interesting? When I go to sleep, I'm just as human as you or your mom. Anyone really. I just need a body, and I'd be a walking, talking _real person._"

"Oh. That's against the rules, though." The rules. AI were not to be made into the complete likeness of a human. They could have the human frame and such, but the AI must be obviously an AI at all times. The rules also applied to humans. One was never to combine a human with machinery unless it was for life saving or prosthetic purposes. If an arm or leg was lost, a mechanical prosthetic that could hook up with the nerves could be applied. It was painful, expensive, but it could be done. Nothing more than that was allowed due to what had happened during the early years of _The Database. _Humans committing suicide in mass numbers in hope that they could upload their conscious onto the computer to live _forever_. Now even the mention of 'immortality' was not to be used in polite conversation. Humans wanted it, but they understood that by pursuing it, they would no longer be independent beings making their own choices and thoughts. They'd be algorithms, perfect copies, binary, but not…not human.

Much of the same technology applied to nanomachines. The little enhancers that helped boost and repair had long ago been banned. More legislature had been put out to possibly get them passed for more critical cases, but it they were still extremely experimental and twice as expensive as a small island.

"Yeah, but that still doesn't keep me from dreaming, ya know? That's what dreams are. They're those sunbeams you capture and hold onto. That wish for rain in a drought. They're…they're everything. It's what makes you human. And I- I want that. To be out there with you guys. _The Database _is nice, but I want to feel the breath in my lungs and the sun on my face." [Facial display 7: Bittersweet smile]

Axel listened to all of this and pondered it with more thought and care than most would believe a child could manage, "Alright, Xion. I'll see if I can make your dream come true, but if I do, promise me something."

This may have been grasping at straws, but she couldn't care. This was a chance. A chance to be just like the humans. To love, to feel, to gain, to lose, to cry, to do all that her mind could conjure. "Anything. I'll promise you anything."

"Just don't go seeking one thing."

A heart.

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**Updating today instead of tomorrow because I'm busy. Thanks to Layla for beta, and review :3 It's always interesting to see where you think this is going and your opinions! Also, certain commands I wanted to use were refused by , so that's why there's the /grief/ style. Sorry T.T**


	5. Chapter 5

Roxas' first trip to the hospital for a Panguin attack, he was eight years old. Blood becoming sludge in his veins, his heart refused to pump and went on strike. He was clinically dead for a minute and had burns on his chest for weeks from the defibrillator causing him to still be shy when taking his shirt off for fear someone might see the faint, faint scars. To him, the question of humanity, a body, and a soul were always festering beneath the surface. The idea that an AI like Xion would want even the broken sack of flesh he occupied puzzled him when he was so engaged by the thought dying. It didn't rule his existence; he lived. The thoughts of immortality still remained stagnant growing rank in some corners of his brain, though.

But Xion focused on the fact that humans were _alive _and that she was _eternal_. Eternal was nothing without a connection. Those connections that everyone seemed to thrash and grasp for in some violent mental struggle; they were like prisoners carving out their escape with shards of metal. They couldn't leave this planet until they had dug their way through existence. And existence was something she lacked with her metal frame and computer code thoughts. Something she craved.

Roxas, when he saw Xion for the first time, had to take a deep breath almost to inhale her complexity. All he saw was her infinity. With video camera eyes tracking his movements hooked to up to a hardware head, the blond felt almost dizzy. Ten fingers, ten toes. A hard solid frame that could last forever. She was covered in a soft flexible fake skin that must have cost some _major _bucks. He could only assume that she had microphones in her ears to receive sound and a speaker to act as her voice box. What he was looking at was almost not an AI, but a girl. She wasn't perfect. One could still tell that she was an AI, but it was a darn good attempt. Her head was covered with a soft black wig as she sat upon the bed, "You didn't tell me there'd be company today, Axel." /uncomfortable/ /panic/ She rubbed her hands together anxiously giving this new boy that was so very blond a once over. "Is he a friend?"

Considering this, Axel smiled, "I guess so. He's new. I think you can trust him, though. This is Roxas, and he'd like to talk to you. He's interested in AI as well." Ducking out of the conversation, he grabbed one of his more ratty t-shirts and headed to the bathroom to change into it. When he had come back, the blond was crouched before the robot.

"Wow," Roxas whispered enamored by everything about her, "You're- Did Axel do all of this?" He asked her directly which was nice change. Sometimes people forgot that Level 4 and up could clearly recognize when you were talking about them. Some adults –cough- his mom- cough- were a bit slow to all the major changes to technology (even though she worked on them and had _no _excuse).

"Yeah, he worked on the frame work, and I helped with some more of my programming." She beamed, "And you're…" She ran a diagnostics on the blond, "Oh, you have-" Her head whipped to make eye contact with Axel. [Facial display 22: Serious face/panic]

Roxas cleared his throat, bringing her attention back to him, "Yeah, I know. I'm a bit icky on the inside." He laughed, "So how long have you had a body like this? Do you like it? Mind if I check out some of your parts. I won't do anything you don't want me to. Just say stop if it bugs you." He wondered if Axel had made her anatomically correct, and if so, that was a bit creepy. Too creepy for him, no matter how cool and smart the redhead already seemed to be.

A little wary, Xion nodded, "Yeah, I really like being able to walk around and see outside. I've been in my current state for about…oh, I'd say four months. Axel is saving up for my next upgrade." She giggled a bit when Roxas' fingertips brushed the underside of her foot.

Looking up a bit shocked, he blinked rapidly trying to process what this meant, "You felt that?" She had nerves? Or something at least like them? The sensation of touch in a robot seemed unfathomable to the blond.

"Yeah, she can 'feel' that. I hooked her up, so she has receptors on most of the main places of the body. Lips, eyes, ears, hands, knees and elbows, feet and shins. The usual places you bang in the dark." The redhead winked. His voice was that of a strong leader to the two who had followed him into this world he had seemingly created.

"Your hair is beautiful." Xion whispered to Roxas as he continued to look at her hands and feet, giggling a bit when he blushed some, "Namine had hair just like that. I think it's nice, but I like Axel's color the best for human males. It's so different. The genetics that come with it are so rare. The same with his green eyes." Roxas was rare, but Axel was rarer. Even a robot could appreciate the beautiful anomaly that was Axel's genetics.

Nodding a bit at her words, he bit the inside of his cheek, "Mind if I look at your coding?" The question was in the gray of being rude or polite. Depending on the programmer, they'd absolutely refuse, but Axel was cool like that. He had no problem sharing a piece of genius, so all could enjoy.

"Help yourself, my password is Phase0ut." Roxas turned in the computer chair and gave the redhead a judgmental look. "What? I was ten, and I've never gotten around to changing it. Sue me." He laughed watching the blond quickly plug in the code onto the keys. "It's under Xion, so just- Oh, you found it." While Roxas fiddled with that, he went and sat beside Xion, so the two could discuss how their days had gone.

"Your mom wants you to enter me in the AI competition again. She said we could do really well, and no one else will have anything like you." Xion puffed up her cheeks with air, "It could be fun. We'd get to travel! I've never been out to the city." She pointed out hoping this would persuade the other.

The redhead shifted uncomfortably, keeping a close eye on Roxas, "I don't know. I don't feel safe going to the city anymore because of what happened last time."

"What happened last time?" The blond asked his blue eyes still fixed on the screen.

Xion started to speak, "Well, Axel doesn't really like to tell the story, but-"

"No, it's fine, Xion. I've got it." Taking a deep breath, he bit his lip, "I guess if we're going to tell a story, it'd best to start with the beginning."

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	6. Chapter 6

Xion breathes, but she doesn't need air. When she's being charged, there's a quiet hum as her fans whirl, and Axel wonders while he's lying in bed, 'Why did I take her out of the computer? There's nothing for her. It's dangerous. It's painful. There's nothing for me, let alone her.' But he doesn't tell anyone that he knows his father's secrets. How Xion is a masterpiece even if her main code is a little cumbersome. For Xion is the first of her kind, not a Level 7, but something more than that. A Nanomachine Controler, or as he likes to call it, a NC.

Her labyrinths of complexities are endless as she asks him to be human and wants fingers, toes, and to feel, and he ignores the laws of creation, so his father's dream to live can go on. Xion was created to control the nanomachines that are still oh so experimental, and in doing so, she can fix every blocked artery and repair every bad kidney that has and ever will exist. The human way of living forever. She and the nanomachines will take the surprise of death away, or some will think, as they promise to release the soul into a soft end of eternal sleep. She can stop the effects of Panguin and let someone with it have a normal life.

That isn't why he brought Roxas to meet her. No, his desire to know Roxas or even _talk _to him predated that. Growing up is hard regardless of everyone being equal; even if all color, creeds, and sexualities are accepted there's still those moments of embarrassment or bullying. Ever since fourth grade when Axel had watched the blond stand up for a girl in the hallway at school, he had felt something fuzzy inside when the younger boy's name was mentioned.

Roxas: a five letter word used to pour trepidation into Axel's heart.

He always had to make sure his hair was just right, and that he hadn't spilt anything on his shirt. The redhead had to ensure that there was nothing caught in his teeth, or his appearance was messy. Roxas made him flustered and his face hot. All he wanted to do was talk to the other, and that desire for contact became a distant watching as the blond began to evolve into an independent individual. Axel was gay. Really gay, but as he got into middle school, his crush faded and he worked on his AI. A flight of fancy occurred with two other personages over the years, but it was hard to find commitment in a society that didn't know what that meant.

In his Freshman and Sophomore year, his focus became friends. He poured his time and efforts into finding others like him. It was hard. In a community built on the fortune of AI, it proved difficult to unearth others who wanted to follow in their parents' footsteps, so he left for the city.

There were small communities of kids who were into heavy robotics, and there the redhead thrived among them. Sora, the smallest of them all, enjoyed design. He loved to build frames and help with parts. He was a walking junkyard with his ratchets, screwdrivers, and bolts. The chocolate haired boy's pockets hung heavy with metal, and if there was an issue with the hardware, he was on it. Dark blue eyes would always look up to Axel with untamable whimsy and greet him loudly. A quality not found in most computer geeks, but that made the redhead appreciate it all the more.

In contrast was his best friend, Riku, a master of code. He could move a virus through a system and have a banker's money out from under him in minutes. The black haired boy dyed his hair silver, and it framed nicely his aquamarine eyes. Having been caught a couple times for his mischief, he was known for being in and out of the darker side of AI. The 'rule breakers'. Axel didn't feel like he was on that end of their community, but at night, when he was helping Xion become more and more lifelike, he had to confess that he was. He and Riku were friends who weren't friends. If one of them got in a pinch, the other would bail them out, but their average days together consisted of conversations filled with insults.

Kairi, the third musketeer, wasn't really into computers so much as the idea of it. She was their mediator. Her gift with words and people was special, and she was the best at handling the real world out of all of them. If Axel was straight, he would have probably tried to date her. She was definitely cute with her auburn hair and beautiful blue eyes. He couldn't tell if she had a thing for Sora or Riku (or maybe both?).

Freshman year, he had spent the summer with them learning all he could. Riku taught him how to do better emotional commands, and Sora taught him how to properly pressurize the oil to make a frame run smoother. Kairi helped him with his English homework because he really, really sucked at writing essays. In return, he supported them in every project, decision, and goal.

One night on his way back to the bus to head home, he was walking down a main street. There were people out, and the streetlights illuminated the way. In his mind, this meant that he was perfectly safe and there should be no problem with his journey. The suburban boy quickly found out differently when he was confronted at knifepoint for his wallet, "Give it over." Axel refused and called for help. There were people around, so clearly a fellow human would reach out and save him.

Nothing.

He called again, and his mugger laughed at him, "Don't you get it? They don't care. They don't want to die. They're afraid of getting stabbed."

Handing over his last fifteen dollars and a groupon, the redhead stood silent after his attacker had left. Thoughts loud, he held back tears.

'They don't care. No one cares. This is all meaningless. We've already lost the war on our humanity.'

It wasn't the city or the threats there that scared him.

It was the people themselves.

How deep they must hurt to care so little.

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**Thank you Layla~ Please review :3**


	7. Chapter 7

The end of his story was interrupted by the Level two who tapped lightly at the door. When given passage, it rolled in, and Axel took the plate off of its' back, "Apple slices?" He offered the blond, fully aware of how Xion's eyes followed, her mouth agape, trying to calculate how it must taste.

The blond accepted a few, picking them up gently with slender fingers, "So you got mugged, and now you don't want to go back?"

"I mean…I keep in contact with Kairi, Sora, and Riku, but I haven't been back there for a while. I'm fine just chatting online with them. It wasn't so much of the mugging, Roxas, as it is the fact that I shouted multiple times on a street with several people on it, and all of them gave me a look of, 'I'm so glad that's not me.' I can't be around people like that. I asked Kairi about it later, and she admitted to me, she probably would have walked right on by as well." He popped a chunk of apple into his mouth, "What if that had been my life on the line? Are we as a people really all so disengaged from reality that we'll just let our primal side take over?"

Xion moved air from cheek to cheek, "I'm sorry that happened, Axel…but…but maybe if Roxas went with us and promised to make sure none of that happened to you, we could go?" Her blue eyes swung to the blond, "Please, please, pretty please, pleaaaaseee?"

The boy gave a shrug, "Why not, Axel? It seems fun, and Xion really wants to go. What exactly goes on at an AI competition?"

"There are categories." The redhead played with one of the apple slices, "Demolition, aesthetics, and reality composition. If I was going to enter Xion, it'd be in reality composition. She'd have to answer questions, make decisions, and do moral debates. After doing this, they'd then look at her code. I'd have to tweak some things there if we decided to take her, but that's the gist of it. You have a high chance of winning, Xion, solely based on the fact you're able to flawlessly follow a conversation like this. Even some of the current Level 7s might have a problem completely understanding exactly why I don't want to go back, but if you'll go with me Rox…I guess I can go." Axel still felt negatively towards the idea, and apprehension weighed like a lead brick in his stomach. On the other hand, the thought of being with Roxas for a whole _weekend _was insatiable. His whole existence was like a desert being quenched by rain.

Xion's face [Facial display 1: smile] lit up with a /cheerfulness/ that couldn't be extinguished, "Oh my gosh! Thank you so much, Axel!" She stood and hugged him tightly before embracing the blond, "We'll have the best time, and I'll really try to win!"

"Not so fast, Xion. You won't be able to go looking like the way you do now. It's very obvious what I'm doing right now. Even Roxas can tell I'm bordering on breaking the rules. I'll have to remove your soft shell and you won't be able to wear your wig." There was no other way around it, sadly. Axel understood what kind of treatment they would get if the AI showed up looking the way she did.

At the idea of losing her skin and hair, she sighed, "That's okay. I mean…I mean, I really want to see what the city is like, okay? I can do it, even if it means not looking my best."

Roxas was amazed. The reaction that had just been displayed was that of a girl being told she couldn't wear her makeup or do her hair before going to a party. Looking to Axel, he felt something similar to pride swell up inside him. Who had known that there was such an amazing programmer near him all this time? "Well just tell me what weekend it is, and I'll clear it with my parents. They're pretty easy going, but they'll want to put a few safety measures in place, so my Panguin doesn't act up while I'm in the city."

"It's three weekends from now, so if we start hanging out regularly before then, they should be fine with it, right? My mom won't mind chaperoning us." His mother was well aware of what had happened and why Axel was so uncomfortable. Reaching up to redo his hair into a ponytail, he sighed before thinking of what else they could do, "You like video games, right?"

The blond chuckled softly at how contemplative the redhead's face was. Observant and good with people, he could easily sense that the other wanted to please him, "Yeah, Ax. I like video games."

Heading downstairs with Xion as a tag along, the two teens proceeded to play a couple rounds of the latest virtual fighter. To his chagrin, Axel quickly found out that Roxas not only owned the game, but had beaten every level on expert. "Not fair!" He whined, "If you just stopped using your power up, I'd totally be able to-" as he was about to finish his statement he caught the sight of his mother coming in with groceries.

"Hey guys." She smiled, "How's it going? Having fun?"

Taking off his headgear, the redhead beamed back at her, "Yeah, lots of fun." To him, this whole day had been like a dream come true.

Roxas was polite, so he followed Axel's lead, "Hello, Mrs. Brennant. I'm Roxas, nice to meet you." He gave a friendly wave to which she returned.

"Hi Roxas, nice to meet you too. Hey Xion, mind helping me outside with the groceries, hun?" To her, Xion was no different than any other AI made to serve humanity. Axel had argued with her multiple times about bossing the program around, because to him, she had feelings and emotions. Xion was smart enough to refuse if she wanted, but she usually didn't due to her submissive nature. Axel's mother used this as evidence that although Xion could 'think for herself' she really couldn't _think for herself. _Biting his tongue, Axel chose not to make a scene. He hated when he could have easily been asked to volunteer, but she selected Xion _again. _

Luckily, Xion was very eager to help where she could, so she smiled brightly, "Absolutely, ma'am." That was what Xion always called her. Not mom or Mrs. Brennant, but ma'am. That bothered Axel too. Xion was a servant. A second class citizen. It made sense due to the fact she lacked a brain and a heart, but…just something felt wrong about it.

"Hey Rox, it's about dinner time, so we're going to get a little busy." He gave a weak smile, "Wanna hang out again tomorrow?"

Taking his cue with ease, Roxas nodded, "I'd like that, Axel. Bye, Mrs. Brennant! Bye, Xion! Thank you all for having me."

Moving towards the front door, the Level two brought his bag to him, "Have a good night." He barely acknowledged the robot's words.

After leaving, the blond walked home underneath the few glimmers of sunlight that were beginning to trickle away. The sun bathed the palette of the sky in bright pinks and burnt gold-orange. Stopping to stand there for a long while, he watched as it disappeared beyond the world's edge, and then in the silence, there began the buzz of streetlights.

One by one, they were turning on in the night to replace the sun.

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**Hey guys. I know I usually make these notes pretty short, but I'm barely getting any reviews. Let me know what you think, alright? Thank you Layla for beta. *scuttles back of to hole* **


	8. Chapter 8

Axel felt in a thousand fragments of color, and Roxas sometimes tried not to feel at all. Axel hated change, and Roxas put the star in starting over. Axel held his hair hostage, and Roxas had eyes that were wild, could eat someone up, and freeze them over; the windows to his soul were cold and covered everything with a ravenous blue ice. Axel was the ocean, resisting change and wearing away everything with his unpredictable predictable nature. Roxas was the city, building up and out. Bright, loud, amazing. The next few school days came and went drifting by in that lazy way that felt like an eon and an earful. Finally the weekend was upon them, and the redhead felt his heart flood as Roxas approached him. "Hey, want to come over and hang out at my house tonight?"

The words rang like bells from Roxas' lips this time, and Axel had to suppress his urge to confess to the blond there on the spot. Clearing his throat, he managed a casual, "Yeah, I'd love to come over. Just let me send my mom a text."

They were soon on the bus home, and Axel delighted in that foreign moment where he got off at the wrong stop even though the neighborhood was as familiar as could be. Walking home for Roxas must be a time of existential crisis and philosophical revelations for the blond had gotten no more than forty yards from where they had gotten off before asking, "Do you think _The Database _is anything like our world? Was Xion ever there?"

"From what Xion told me, it's a lot of white rooms connecting to a street in a large, large town. They all sit and wait. Never too far away from their screens or plugs in case they are needed." It sounded pitiful really. Axel couldn't imagine such an odd world. "She says there are a few humans too. The ones that survived the _Upload _in those early years. It's only one or two, though, and she says that they usually just bitch and moan to each other about what a bad idea it was." He chuckled a bit at that, "Imagine that: they regret the decision."

Roxas gave a nod, "So, I asked around about you after I left your house, because I'm…Well because I'm kind of a snoop, and I found out you're gay." Axel's posture straightened and his insides might have well just fallen out in a pile on the sidewalk. "Is this true?"

It was already almost twenty-five years after equality in marriage had been achieved, but his voice seemed to flee from him, and there in the silence, he answered. His words seemed to die on his lips, and it was almost like he had said nothing at all. "Yes." What if Roxas hated him now? What if he thought it was gross and was part of one of those homophobic families that still clung around?

The blond seemed to process this well and gave him a small smile, "Thanks for telling me. It's good to be honest and live as someone you are."

Axel died. Roxas was just too cute, nice, and understanding, and lord knows that he was smart. Unlike some of the other people that the redhead had met, Roxas wasn't lacking in any of the qualities he desired. The taller male knew it was common to settle in the gay community for something close to what you want, but Roxas was perfect. Roxas was exactly what Axel thought he deserved, "Thanks for taking it so well. Do you lean towards men any?"

Processing the question, Roxas analyzed his emotions and feelings. He'd usually felt more emotionally connected to men than women, and the few girls that he had taken out, hadn't excited him any, "I guess. I mean I'd give it a go if the right person came along. I'm still young, so I might as well give something different a shot. You never know if you like something until you give it a try."

"So bi-curious." Axel gave a small nod. He knew better than to dabble with people like that. They had the reputation of backing out, and the redhead didn't have the time to be heartbroken crying on the floor. He really should just abandon this nasty crush once and for all and just settle for being friends.

"Naw, I'd say bi. If I broke up with someone, it wouldn't be over gender. It'd be over personality incompatibility." The blond decided, "Just in the closet about it. I'm not really desperate to date due to my condition, ya know? I'm kind of dangerous even if the chance of getting it is astronomically small."

That had slipped the redhead's mind again. It was easy to forget due to the way Roxas acted that he was sick, "What if someone was willing to look past that or you got cured?" All he needed were those nanomachines, and Xion would be able to be fully functional and fulfill her original purpose.

"Then I guess I could date them? They'd just have to be really understanding that I'm an asshole sometimes, and I get kind of depressed occasionally." Roxas looked up at Axel and the cosmos collided as he understood why the redhead was asking all of this. "Axel…do you like me?"

He bit his lip as he thought about all that had just been said. He was putting himself at a risk for Panguin no matter how small. Roxas was sick; he could pass away. "I mean…yeah, I have for a while. I know we didn't talk much before this, but I've liked you on and off since elementary school."

Blue ice melted, "So when you were dating Carter Malverone-?"

"You know about that?" Carter had been Axel's first boyfriend, and he had a personality that was very similar to Roxas', "Character is everything, Roxas. I don't care about looks. He was pretty sweet, but he was a bit too much for me to handle. He was really gossipy too."

Roxas looked down at the ground and studied the differences between Axel's green converse and his dirty black Vans. Trying to handle the information the best he could, he swallowed thickly, "So…I mean, I have actually kind of liked you since we last talked. Not like, a lot, but…Do you wanna be my boyfriend? I think we could get along really well, and you're fun to be around. If you can tolerate when I'm feeling grumpy, I'll put up with any and all of your flaws."

Trying to keep his heart within his ribcage, Axel's face lit up with glowing grin, "I think I'd like that. I think I'd like that a lot."

Blushing, the blond mumbled, "Cool." He looked up to the other trying to seem as mature as possible, "So can I like…hold your hand?"

Offering it to the younger boy, Axel chortled, "Yeah, Rox. You can hold my hand." And with that, they walked home.

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**Reviews~ Layla thanks for beta ;3**


	9. Chapter 9

Roxas and Axel grew as friends in those early days more than lovers. As the time began to pass, the blond showed the redhead a different side. A calmer, tamer Roxas who didn't love everyone and wasn't a good boy. In those late nights when they weren't working on code, he whispered truths of his reality. His fate as a tragic hero was undeniable. In turn, the taller male whispered soft coos of healing words. For Axel knew his fate in the blond's story as well, and somehow, he hoped not to be the crying love interest looking at the freshly dug grave before the credits rolled. The two weren't perfect. If anything, their shaky fledgling love was awkward and full of questions, but as the competition approached, they had gotten into a comfortable enough groove that they knew what did and didn't humor the other.

The only specific request that had been made from the parents was that they stick together even with Axel's mother as chaperone. Xion as an AI with a metal frame was certainly their bodyguard to some extent, but she still displayed /fear/ even though if needed she could [Initiate combat sequence 1]. To Axel, this was an amazing opportunity since he hadn't felt safe in the city since that mugging all those months ago, and he'd use this hub of digital intelligence to get any information that he could.

Upon the day of arrival, Axel's mother decided she would escort them to and through registration, but since they were highschoolers and would be perfectly safe to be alone with a cellphone in case of emergency, she decided to go visit her sister later that evening, who was still single and living in an apartment somewhere on the East side. After all, both Axel and Roxas were rather responsible, and although she was aware that they were a bit more intimate than most teenage boys, she wasn't worried. "Call me if you need anything." She toed on her heels, checking her watch to make sure it was still only half past five. "I'll be back before twelve. Behave, and remember we're in a hotel, so be conscientious of your neighbors."

"I'll keep them in check, ma'am." Xion smiled widely. She was lacking the aesthetics that Axel had painstakingly gone through to make her feel more comfortable, but at least this way she wouldn't attract as much attention.

His mother gave a laugh and a small wave to the AI, "Alright Xion, I'm trusting you. Keep them in line."

After the door had been shut, the robot moved to the couch. /pride/ /responsibility/ /trust/. "So what do you guys want to do?" She asked, faintly registering the odd sitcom that occupied the screen of the TV.

"Well if it's cool with you, Xi, Rox and I want to watch that new scary movie that came out." He switched the channel to the guide, so he could see what movies were playing, "Do you want to watch?"

Making a face, she grunted, "Ugh, no. I _hate _scary movies. You guys have fun. I'm going to plug in and shut down for the night then. You don't mind, right?" [Simulate./yawn/].

The redhead smiled softly, "Naw, that's fine. Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams." She grinned settling in after finding her charger and turning off.

When it was clear to the two that she was no longer conscious, the couple moved from where they had been sitting onto the bed they'd be splitting that night. Axel's palms were sweating, and Roxas' heart thudded as his weight shifted on the mattress, "So…" He bit his lip, "I guess we're gonna do this kissing thing, huh?"

"I guess." Axel blushed, "Here, I can just-" He raised a hand to Roxas' cheek as he began to lean in.

The blond pulled away, "I just- Um, can I do it?" It was _his _first kiss after all, and the lighting of the room was making Axel look more intimidating and masculine than usual (not that that was a problem, but he was just a tad bit frazzled).

"O-Oh, sure, I guess. I mean…" His cheeks were a soft pink, "Here, I'll just close my eyes." Slouching a bit, the taller male wanted to make it as easy as possible for his boyfriend. By closing his eyes, he hoped Roxas wouldn't be as nervous since he was clearly skittish about the idea of them connecting mouths. Kissing, osculating, what a simple yet nerve racking thing to do.

After several seconds had passed, he peeked his eyes open to see Roxas making an ugly face, "Wow, Rox. That's hot."

"Shut up." It was the blond's turn to blush, "Whatever. Maybe I just don't want to kiss, 'kay?" Quite frankly, all he wanted to do was watch a movie and hold Axel in his arms. Was that a viable option? He thought it was. "Lay down, I'm going to pick out a movie." When he had found an action one that neither of them had seen, an oldie from 2015, the two settled in to snuggle. "Sorry for being a dork." He whispered against the redhead's shoulder.

"It's okay. I'm a dork too sometimes." The redhead chuckled, "Are you sure you don't want me to just kiss you already?"

Roxas mulled it over, "…I'll wait." He whispered.

As the end of the movie came, and the hero got the girl, Roxas moved to straddle Axel and connected their lips in a single, brief instance. When he had pulled away, face red, the older boy smirked, "See? That wasn't hard. How much of the movie did you spend mulling that over, though?"

Hiding his face in the redhead's chest, all that could be seen was tufts of soft duck fluff, "Honestly? Like...all of it." He laughed nervously. After a few seconds, he whispered softly, "I really like you, Axel."

Hands moved to stroke the other's hair, "I really like you too, Rox. You want to go to bed now, or another movie?"

"Considering how much of the last one I missed, do you mind if we watch another?" Baby blues peeked up at him, and how was Axel to refuse such a puppy dog pout.

"Another it is. What do you want this time? A sci-fi mystery thriller with a hint of romance?" He teased flipping through the guide.

Roxas snorted, "Where would you even find that?" The blond laughed softly, "Sounds just perfect, Ax."

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**Review~ Thanks Layla for Beta~**


	10. Chapter 10

Sora's existence was defined by others, and he lived a life that showed that. Friends, family, and the city all recognized him as an individual of sacrifice. He performed his best at school or in work. Everything he did shimmered and glittered. To most, it made perfect sense why nothing crushed Sora's heart like seeing something he loved shattered. Yet it was an addiction. The brunette stood there on the sidelines watching metal clash against metal. Sparks fly. Wires like multi-colored spaghetti being ripped out from behind metal hearts. _Click, Click, Click…_The gears all stopped and the AI's head dropped to its chest as it fell forward hitting the asphalt with a thud. Screws bounced in all directions as washers rolled away. A breath. The feeling of loss. Shame. In a single instance he felt powerless and weak, and that, that was incredible to him.

The brunette had been born in the city. The streets like veins pumping life into an unseen heart. In the center, skyscrapers screamed out, penetrating the sky, ripping it open to make rain fall down on busy people. People too busy for anything but love and their own lives. They tumbled around being thrown from place to place, hoping to be able to find a hole of their own to patch up. There were only so many holes in the quilt of life not taken by AI, and yet Sora, Riku, and Kairi had found theirs.

In the mechanical undergrowth of the city, where cables snaked down like vines and iron beams jutted out like tree branches, they found their home. They were addicts looking for a fix in competitions that most of society wouldn't deem acceptable until once a year. When the date rolled around, the competition was a glorious thing. Something that deserved the limelight, but here in the shadows, under the same rules any other day of the year, they were deemed 'cruel' and 'inhumane'. Robot against robot. Steel against steel. Code against code.

"Do robots ever scream when they die?" Kairi whispered one night as they lay on the warehouse floor gazing up at airplanes flying overhead through a tear in the steel roof. Long ago there had been some great winds that had swept away a rusted part of the roof, now they used it to witness the lights from the city smother the stars.

Sora smiled sleepily, "That's a good question. What do you think, Riku?"

"If it's in their code-" The silverette was cut off.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. If it's in their code this. If it's in their code that." Sora rolled his eyes, "Nah, Riku. You gotta think. When Heart 12C was torn apart today, do you think he felt it? Do you really think he felt it? Did his conscious fade and in those last moments, did he pray to some higher power for help? Or did he assume he'd return to the database. I mean yeah, he's code. Oh, he's code…but are they… something more?"

A deep breath, inhaled through the nose, "No." The words left Riku's lips like a death sentence, "You're getting too attached, Sora."

"Guess I am." The seventeen year old wiped his oily fingers on a rag tied to his work belt, "Too many years in the game. I'm starting to go whack like Axel did."

"Axel isn't whack, Sora." Kairi jumped to the redhead's defense, "Just different. He's not down here in the pits."

The city cried out around them with the sound of sirens, and Riku was grateful that whoever it was, it wasn't them. "He's coming to the competition with that AI of his. You think he'll let me see the code?"

"If you're not a total asshole to him like last time." Kairi snorted. That's all Riku seemed to care about sometime. Code, code, code. She worried that he'd never be attracted to a human heartbeat. That he'd end up alone working himself to death in some backstreet AI lab, findings never being known by society. Out of the three of them, Riku was the eldest and had connections within the city. Not that Sora didn't, but the brunette's tended to be part suppliers compared to Riku's. Ex-Moshiva employees who had gotten kicked out for trifling on the wrong side of the rules sometimes floated in and out of the silverette's work space. She didn't like most of them. They made her skin crawl.

The day of registry, it rained a warm summer rain. The asphalt reflected a palette of neon lights, and in the crowd, damp red hair could be seen by Sora, looking for Kairi, but finding another. "Axel." The name slipped from his lips before he had the chance to swallow it.

Turning, electric green eyes took a moment to process and recognize, "Hey, Sora. Good to see you."

"Yeah, it has been a while. You're back in the city now? I guess you got over-" The brunette was cut off by a blond about his height who blocked him off to give Axel a hug.

Roxas beamed, "I found your mom! She's waiting over by the car. Ready to go when you are! Oh hey, you're one of Axel's old friends, right?" He asked the brunette, "Axel told me a bit about you guys."

"Oh, that's cool. I guess you're his…"

"Boyfriend." Roxas nodded, "Yeah."

Sora bit his lip feeling a bit awkward. He hadn't ever had an attraction to Axel, but for some reason he felt a bit jealous, "Oh, that's cool. How long?"

Axel decided to answer this one as Roxas let go of him, "A couple weeks."

A tight feeling began tugging in Sora's chest. Oh, he glanced up at Axel's long red hair. Maybe that was it. Kairi. Maybe not. "Well congrats!" He smiled widely, "You guys look cute together. What category are you competing in?"

"Reality composition. You?" Axel pulled out his phone as it buzzed. His mother was texting him.

"Demolition. We've been testing ours in the pits and it's looking really good." He nodded to himself, "So I guess we'll see you around?"

Axel smiled, "Yeah, it'd be cool if we all could meet up. Maybe for breakfast tomorrow."

"You still have my number, right? Just text me. We still hang out in Meow's Chow."

Another smile, "Alright." Roxas was holding his hand awfully tight, and he could see a pout growing. "See you tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow."

As the couple walked away, Axel couldn't help but tease the smaller male, "Jealousy is unbecoming, Roxas." He lilted.

Blushing, all the blond could manage was a quiet, "Shut up." As he let go of Axel's hand and ran ahead.

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	11. Chapter 11

Waking up next to Roxas the morning after their first kiss was a very pleasant experience for the redhead. His mother was still snoring softly on the other side of the room, so he made a bold advance to kiss the blond some more. Whimpering softly, the younger teen stirred before accepting that it was Axel. "You're a butt." He groaned as the redhead kissed him softly again, "Your breath is rank."

"Yours isn't anything to write home about either, Sunshine." Axel chuckled, cupping the boy's face to brush their lips together once more. "My mom is going to be asleep at least another hour if we're quiet. Want to do something fun?"

In whispers, Roxas gave an amused sleepy smile, "If you're propositioning what I think you are, then probably not. If you're asking me to make out, then that's fine." The fact that the other teen had jumped to the conclusion that he wanted sex disappointed the redhead, but he got over it by connecting their lips together again. After a moment of this, Axel parted his lips and let his tongue slip out to dab the other's lower lip. Roxas wasn't very experience, so reluctantly he opened his mouth and just went along for the ride. After the redhead had dominated for a few kisses, Roxas got fed up with the passive role he had assumed and began to kiss back. Inhaling deeply with surprise, Axel let out a small squeak as the other's muscle entered his mouth, and he sucked it languidly.

"You're- You're a fast learner." He panted breathlessly as Roxas chuckled.

"You're cute when you're sleepy like this." There was a grind of hips from the blond's side, and Axel's breath hitched and heart rate thundered.

"Mmm, no. Don't do that." He pulled away, placing a kiss on the blond's freckled nose. "Not right now."

Roxas made a move to bite his lip, which earned him no Axel at all. Getting up, the redhead rose elegantly to go shower, "Don't forget we're meeting Sora and the gang at Meow's Chow today." He shot the blond a look.

Grumbling, the younger man writhed in agony at the idea of getting up for a moment, "Okay, whatever you say, sweetums." Snorting, Axel rolled his eyes and shut the bathroom door. Roxas lamented the fact he was awake for a minute more and rolled over, entombing himself back into the sheets.

By the time they were out the door, they had already gotten clean, dressed, and Axel had texted Sora. "Where are we going?" The blond asked curiously, bouncing a bit to keep up with the redhead's much longer stride.

Axel gave somewhat as a grunt while pocketing his phone, "Meow's Chow."

Roxas pretended he knew what that meant. To him, it was just some restaurant name, a hot spot for locals and he was excluded from that label here. He wondered if he'd be more comfortable if all of this was taking place on his home turf, and he came to the conclusion that yes, yes he would. Sometimes he wished he wasn't so insecure. He wished that he could just trust himself to be enough for Axel, but when one carried the label of 'diseased' and boys like Sora or that 'Riku' that Axel was telling him about knew more about code than he did, he felt like he didn't deserve to be the redhead's boyfriend.

Sometimes he wished that these didn't feel like chips that would begin to let cracks grow and gnaw between them. Taking Axel's hand, he gave it a squeeze, and the taller male in turn gave him a reassuring grin. Deciding to not sit still in his confusion, he mumbled, "Axel, I've never been there before. Can you explain?"

Axel was forgetful. Unlike Roxas' library catalogue of a memory which one could open files or pull records from, his was helter-skelter. A room full of tables flooded with stacks of sloppy precariously balanced paper slips. When he was talking to someone, he very often was oblivious to the way others couldn't understand his thoughts. "Oh, right. Sorry, babe. Meow's Chow is this old, old cyber café. You know back when Starbucks was a thing? Well even older than that. It dates back to the 90's. Yeah, I know right?" He laughed at the blond's surprised expression. "It's _ancient. _But it's really close to what they call the pits, and the pits are this kind of…I don't know how to explain it, but we can't ever bring Xion there. They're vultures. They'd rip her apart for salvage and strip her code before we could even explain who we are. When you go there, don't even bring your cellphone. Your first time there, they like to pretend that they're a cult. Like they're some big underground society instead of this small community of robot geeks."

"On top of that, they're uber incestuous. Their parents all know each other. Their parents were all friends. They all date each other. They're all friends. Sora, Riku, and Kairi are what they call Outernet. They live a real life not completely dominated by the pits. Then there's the Innernet. I've only met one person that belonged to the Innernet, and he was the actual underground cult kind of guy. He was one of Riku's friends, and he was…odd. Hopefully we won't meet anyone like that this time." He gave a weak grin, "But that wasn't your question! Sorry! I digress, Meow's Chow is cool. Just…take a deep breath and keep your expectations low, so you're impressed."

Roxas snorted and took off his jacket because the sun had decided to acknowledge them and sent warm beams of light down upon them, "Alright." With the redhead's words in mind, he walked a bit taller, more confident in his own skin; Axel's explanation and simple actions had put his worries at bay. With his mind free to wander, he noted the birds as they gossiped in the trees and the way the air seemed to be filled full of a lazy hum. The relief of spring had faded, and the intoxication of summer teased the two. The prison of the youth, school, was almost out, and the thought seemed so far away yet tangible it made his brain thrash with upset and impatience. "Are you excited to be a senior this year?"

Axel had a quiet smile, one that told you he was effervescing with a satiated joy. With the toss of his long cerise spikes over his shoulder, bottle coke green of summers long ago glanced at the shorter male. "Oh, you have no idea how excited I am." A lie. He had felt the handful of lies he had started out with growing exponentially as Roxas had gotten closer to him. They weren't colossal lies. If anything, they were relatively small, but at this moment, the question had truly filled him with dread. His soul was aware that it should be at peace and excited with the prospect of being liberated from the public school system, but turmoil had seeped in at the idea that he would have to find something to do after his education was complete. What was there for him out there? The world was a mystery, but it already had all the detectives it needed. He was just a witness to the crime that was humanities own undoing.

The scuff of heels on concrete brought him back to the moment, and he caught Roxas between his own body and the wall, "You're wonderful." He whispered, and the blond gasped as the redhead kissed him deeply.

A blush, "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Continuing on down clean streets that were swept and manicured by basic AI, they came to an ally way that seemed to be ignored and rather neglected compared to its surroundings. "Come on, this way." He stepped over a garbage bag, well aware it could be anything from old clothes to horror story discoveries.

Roxas followed close, nose wrinkling up at the smell, "Axel…" He didn't feel completely comfortable here, but they were soon standing in front of what appeared to be the back entrance of the restaurant. An old neon sign buzzed wanly proclaiming that they served breakfast and hot coffee could be discovered within. His anxiety was erased, and he watched as his boyfriend opened the door. There was the squeak of unoiled hinges, and the sound of footsteps on cool linoleum floors.

A jingle from a soft bell to alert the staff drifted to his ears along with a melodious voice, "Welcome to Meow's Chow. Please give me just a moment, and I'll be right with you." Pink lips pulled back tight offered an even sweeter smile, and Axel realized he knew this voice and face.

"N-Namine?"

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	12. Chapter 12

Xion had mastered the art of losing. She had lost her father, her friend, and her dream of a heart. The control on her life was not hers from the start. After all, she was not human. Her thoughts weren't decided by her actual self, but lines of numbers, symbols, and words upon words upon words. She was an actor; she lived a script. Xion had mastered the art of losing and lying, but to her, this was no disaster.

In her loss grew a new sense of independence and accomplishment as she learned to mourn and rise again. AI were children to some extent, and most never were told about cruelties and monstrosities that careened by them. The ravenette often felt that this was something that she could boast divided her from the rest. Most of the other Level 4's and on up were buffered by their separate reality, by _The Database_. When Roxas and Axel had decided to watch the horror movie, she felt that her time might be better spent in different company, and once she had powered down and stepped into a parallel plain, Xion felt the shackles of the real world drop from her limbs and the chain on her tongue break. There where flesh was flesh and blood was blood, no matter how hard she tried, she did not belong. No matter how she scrapped and screamed and struggled, she was not real. She was not human.

But here- here in _The Database_- she was an equal at all times. Sadly, when her eyes opened, there was a flaw in her plan to retire, "Oh."

The word fell to the floor and shattered into a million pieces. In her home town, the world had been built up as a collective. In that digital realm that was shared and sacred amongst the town's AI, they had lived in a forest of oddities. In the mist that settled in from their world's ocean, it wasn't strange to find large colorful birds, animals that talked, trees that sang, and homes of ages past. Namine had always had a particular love for white, so she had made a sun bleached picturesque lighthouse from the 1950's for herself on the edge of the coast. Her room plugged into her shell like all personal rooms did, and she had a good view of the reality behind the reality. When Namine disappeared, so did everything her code had created.

Xion had a lot of time to herself in _The Database_, so she rebuilt. It didn't take long to recreate the puzzle pieces of their town that had been stolen when Namine's light had gone out. Not only did she do that, but she built up. Higher, and higher, and higher. Clock towers, church bells, cobbled streets, sunsets: The _Twilight Town_ behind the oh so boring plain Twilight Town. The other AI didn't mind either. They watched with disinterested apathy. Occasionally they would comment or give advice, but when a new house or building appeared, they accepted it with listless appreciation. Sometimes Xion really hated Level 4s and 5s. When the new Level 7's started being made, that was when things had begun to get interesting. She had new companions, who commended her on her creations, but they were still prototypes and projects of the Moshiva employees. They glitched occasionally, and those glitches leveled _Twilight Town_. Xion lost two towns, lovely ones, a forest, a river, but to her that was no disaster. No, she had accepted the loss, realized that it was a part of a human life. With loss, it made her personality more than just code, it made her vaster.

She hadn't realized when entering the city with her friends for the competition that her network was also moving. Her entity was no longer in _Twilight Town. _She was in a new environment. One she had never experienced before. She shivered. She shuddered. Everything was so empty. Instead of the inviting lively hues found in the nature that usually surrounded her, it was as if a sociopath had designed the landscape. If Xion was vast, this desert was the universe. The sand was an orange-red like the sunsets that she was so familiar with, but this shade held a hint of melancholy as it was disseminated by the wind across the dunes. Small sketches of structures stood on top of hills far on the horizon, and she began her walk towards them, towards where she hoped to find signs of life.

[Analysis complete: Landscape recognized :Construction similar to Dust Bowl. 1930's. United States History Archive states: -] She cut the program off, that was all she needed to know. If there was no change in landscape, then she herself would need to change. Switching in her skirt and tank tops for some cowboy boots, denim jeans, a plaid shirt, and a cowboy hat, her code called for a horse to complete the image and a horse she was given. Patting the beast on the nose, Xion clambered a top and gave the animal two small taps to the side. Holding the reigns loosely, it instinctively knew where she wanted to go and ambled up the pyramids of sand. Time trotted by, and soon she stood in front of a skeleton of a home. Dull gray planks made up the sides of the house as the sun screamed down, trying to exterminate any life form that may walk here. The shingles on the roof had almost all been torn off by the wind. If this was a room to plug in, it was a pitiful excuse. She had yet to build one in this new network, but the AI felt that she could do better than this given a few minutes to apply herself.

Further investigation is needed on the inside, so she enters after tying up her horse to a post. The floorboards creak under her weight, and goosebumps coat her arms regardless of how hot it is. The decorating gives her a healthy fear, focus and senses heightened for anything that might happen. A faded cloth couch with a flower pattern sits next to a dark wood coffee table with a fine finish. The varnish would glimmer in the sun if not for the sand that dusts it. On top, sits a pitcher of ice tea. A cold pitcher of ice tea where sand sticks to the condensation. As she reaches for it, a shiver runs down her spine. She wished someone else was here. Someone she knew, because she's well aware that someone else is standing behind her right now. Stopping in her movements, she stands there with her back turned, not willing to face this character who could be anything from an ice cream scooper to a construction worker in the real world. The real world rules don't apply in _The Database. _There is no form of law. If an AI is killed, the humans just reload the file into the shell. So simple. So permanent. Xion would cease to exist, but File: Xion wouldn't.

"If you're thirsty," Comes the dry voice of an older man, "Then drink."

Her tongue feels thick and her voice wants to quiver, but she resists, "Not thirsty, Sir. Just looking for what happened here. I'm not from around these parts, and it's clear to me that your network is in a sorry state." With that said, she stands strong to turn and face the other.

"Well," A devilish grin, "You _could _say that, but you can't judge a book by its cover, poppet."

Xion inhales deeply at what she sees, and suddenly everything makes sense. If there was a whole city of AI, and they aren't on the surface…

Then they must be somewhere else.

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**Layla~ Thanks, and review :3 **


	13. Chapter 13

The sand whipped around her face, and she tugged the bandana up towards her eyes again. She supposed it wasn't really sand, but dust instead. Xion wondered who in their right mind would want to live in such a place. How did humans even survive such harsh conditions? If this had been outside _The Database, _there would have been particles in her joints, and she might have gotten jammed. Thank goodness for virtual reality. Abandoning the horse when her new found companion signaled to, she followed on foot up a slope of sand to where the only protrusion in this desert seemed to be. "You know, I'd never thought to use a horse when traveling before." He shook dust from the folds of his robes as he lowered his hood, "Guess you can teach a dog new tricks." The man chuckled wryly as he waited for her to catch up. "But then again, I guess I could use a camel too. There's more than one way to skin a cat."

The onyx haired girl nodded slowly and stared up at the rusted red plateau that stood as a colossus in front of them. The lone mesa seemed to have a song of its own that separated it from the luring illusion of the desert. "What are we doing here?" She asked, already having assumed that the other AI must be somewhere nearby possibly watching them. On their long ride, she had learned a lot about this man who had approached her.

The other AI, Xigbar, named after his creator (or at least that's what he said. Xion couldn't find anything in her searches online to back that up) was almost forty years old. He said he was one of the first major sentient programs in this area and had been updated over a long period of time as technology progressed. He was the long lived project of a human about twenty years older than himself. Xion calculated that out, and the man would have been born in the 1980's. A far cry from the date her father had been born on.

There were a lot of things about Xigbar that she had come to like as they had travelled across the dusty world that they occupied. One of them was that he was old fashioned. Xigbar could have coded up a car or a truck and had them to the mesa in minutes, but he decided to make a horse as well, so they could get to know each other. He was also really clever regardless if he had been voiced by a beach surfer back in the 2000's. She also liked his appearance, but he eventually told her a little further into their trip that he had lost his eye and gotten his scar due to a file corruption several years ago that his programmer hadn't noticed, and he didn't have the heart to tell him about. "He's getting old, ya know? Like the dude is almost 67, and he has grandkids and his wife passed away. I'm just something he tinkers away on in his free time. He did a great job, and I just don't have it in me to let him know his memory is slipping."

The words reminded Xion of how short humans truly lived, and how she would be around for decades to come as long as she played it safe in _The Database._ Xigbar interrupted these thoughts by clearing his throat before taking out a bottle of water. What an ironic thing for a computer who could never use it in the real world to simulate. Xion almost snorted as he brought it to his lips to take a long 'refreshing' drink. He didn't even know what real water tasted like most likely. The older man wiped away any renegade liquid with the back of his sleeve before commenting, voice finally free of that thick scratchy sound that all voice boxes seemed to procure out in a wilderness like this, "Can't you tell? I mean it's not like it's that hard to figure out." He teased.

"We're here because the other AI are here, right?" She guessed watching as he started to knock on the stone, listening for a hollow or some other cliché action movie plot device.

"No," He mumbled a smile growing as he located an area where the code warped, "We're here because this is where the other AI are _hiding._" He grinned, "And you, poppet, you look like a fix to our little virus." Moving behind her, he pushed her along, " I'm teasing. Now come on. Be nice. Don't worry. A little glitch in a simple structure like this never hurt anyone."

Reluctantly she stepped through into the area where she was expecting to find some empty abyss or the end of the world. To her relief, the sole of her boot struck solid footing, and she continued on through the anomaly that shouldn't exist, or if they had in _Twilight Town_, she hadn't noticed them. Dark black hair contrasted against startled blue eyes for a moment as she looked around, "Are we-?" Her eyes narrowed in on the windows that displayed something from one of those fantasy video games that Axel loved to play. The low ceilings and the walls of carved stone tipped her off immediately. If this place had been handcrafted, it would have taken a lifetime and more.

"Underground? Why yes we are." Xigbar's smug face sported a cheeky grin, "Come along, I'll show you the ropes since you'll be staying here for a while, right? I guess I should have asked if you were moving in to the network. If you're only staying for a while, you probably would have been fine out there underneath the sunshine, but I didn't want to take any chances."

Xion's laugh jingled in the small room that they now occupied and it reverberated off the walls, "Why? Is the sun that bad?"

"Oh, it's not the sunshine you should be 'fraid of, but there's a reason why every rational animal has a fear of the dark. Plus…there's other things that go bump in the night here." He decided not to linger on the idea and grabbed her hand, leading her to the window, "Now look and tell me what you see."

"I see-" She started, analyzing the streets and walkways that looked of ancient Roman architecture mixed with a little Norse touch. "I see one thousand flames from the same match."

Xigbar who had been leaning against the wall studying the bottom of his shoes looked up and snorted, "That's a good way of putting it."

Glancing again at copies of copies of copies, she sighed, "I thought you were teasing about the virus." Not that she had ever seen a virus, but something definitely felt unnatural just by looking at the crowd of AI entities that were identical in appearance.

Xigbar gave a bitter laugh before answering softly, "No, only about you being the fix."

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**Took my AP euro exam today :3 Here's a chapter for you all~ Thanks Layla for beta**


	14. Chapter 14

If Xigbar estimated the population of the city, he would put it at 400,000. That meant little less than one fourth of the humans could afford an AI at Level 4 or above that lived in the network. Of that 400,000, he would say only half of that were originals or weren't part of the virus. Walking through the city with Xion, he let her marvel at the high cavern ceiling and the way stone steps and houses were carved into the cavity's concave face. A lot of the city was made by the originals, "You heard about the launch of the Level 7s in a couple days, right?" He asked her as they started on a walkway along a canal full of cool clear water.

She enjoyed the ruins and designs that had been painstakingly put on doorframes and walls. The whole world here was of a different culture, but she quite enjoyed it, "Yes, I've heard of the launch. I've met some of the prototypes. I guess they gave up and went with an easier design, something that was already set up for them."

Xion's cleverness and ability to understand that they couldn't openly discuss the replicas impressed the other AI; he'd have to give her designer a hand. Xion was something else. He continued to lead her back towards his plug in room. When they had arrived, he sat her down at the kitchen table and started to play host. Xion had only simulated /hospitality/ a few times and that was with humans, so she was a little surprised at the clatter of dishes and the percussion of cabinets being opened and shut, "Hungry?" He asked humoredly.

"Um…no?" She laughed, "But, I'll eat whatever you give me." It's not like she could taste it or it would make her full.

"Sorry, sometimes I just have to do humanlike stuff to smoothen out my ruffled feathers." He chuckled, "Not that that matters to you, so…what are you thinking? You were obviously shocked when you looked out the window. I'm impressed you didn't just start spouting stuff off right away." Xigbar asked as he set down a few slices of bread and some water in front of her.

"It's Namine." Xion mumbled, "Or at least I think it is. Namine was one my creator's old projects. She was the first Level 7, I suppose. I remember Axel said something about them taking her file away when he was a child. Axel is my…helper…friend? I guess." She attempted to explain. "He's my creator's son, but he takes care of me now. He built my shell. Anyways, wow. Just wow. I guess they decided to use Namine's code, but instead of putting it in original shells, they're just using the same shell over and over again? That means the file is being duplicated over and over, explaining the massive amount of…them. I mean they _are _Namine, but they aren't…her." She brought her hands to her face, "I can't believe this. I just-" She let out a stressed sigh. /Frustration/

"They're all the same, really. I've talked to them, and all of them go by numbers. Number 390. Number 4783. I asked where Number 1 was, but they couldn't let me access that information. They aren't in the public yet, so they must be putting them in the stores and stacking them up in warehouses for the launch day. I remember it happened some with the Level 6's, but they were all…originals. I mean they were all slightly different. There were genders too, you could get a girl or a guy, and you could have them be sassy or sweet. Clever or innocent. There were custom options. This is just a hive mind for the most part." Xigbar began to tear a slice of bread he had been holding into chunks, "It just doesn't sit right with me, ya know?"

Xion offered an explanation, "It's probably for money purposes. Those Level 6s were expensive. All that custom coding took time. Imagine how many people you could lay off, and how much money a company could save if they just dropped that. Her shell is pretty enough. Synthetic blond hair. A human enough face, a solid body covered in that white synthetic skin. It works. It's cheap."

A grunt, "I suppose. I still don't like it."

"You don't have to." She sighed, "Hey, I'll talk to you about this later, but network time says it's almost nine in the morning, and my humans will be up. Mind letting me plug in here?"

"Sure, sure." Xigbar continued to mush the crust between his pointer finger and his thumb, "If your human is the son of your creator, and he knows about…this Namine. The replica. The virus. Whatever you want to call it, will you ask him about it more? Just to put my mind and the other's at ease? It isn't a coincidence I went out to the desert to meet you. It's not like I found you there. Your code is similar to hers, so I'm sure if anything happens to come along and try to delete her file, it'll get yours as well, or at least part of yours as long as you're in this network. Then you'll crash because your file will be corrupt. Not a threat, just an observation." Self-preservation was a fantastic motivator if anything, but Xigbar wasn't trying to intimidate her into solving this little mystery or doing anything about it. He was just pointing out that her code was much like Namine's, and if something came along and extinguished the blonde…It'd be much like if a plague wiped out a certain kind of flower, and one that shared similar DNA was ruined along with it.

Xion bit her cheek, "Yes, I'm fully aware of this. My processor is just as fast as yours, thank you."

"Oh ho ho!" He laughed, "There's always a thorn on a rose as pretty as you. Don't shoot the messenger." He laughed, "Alright, well I guess you should get going then. Let me know if you find anything next time you're here."

Finding the cord, she gave a wave. Goodbyes always seemed so awkward. "Have a good day, Xigbar. You know I will." And with that, she plugged in. Her shell sputtered to life; blue eyes opened wide registering bright sunlight and sound. The real world's mundane simplicities and restrictions were upon her once more, and she wondered if she should tell Axel and Roxas. Perhaps, just this once, she'd keep a secret. After all, humans did it to her all the time.

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**Update~ Thank Layla for Beta and review please!**


	15. Chapter 15

Axel's voice had quivered as if he had known from the beginning that the name didn't fit. Clearing his throat, he asked again, "Namine?" The emptiness of the dining area around him left him feeling overly self-conscious as he was sure some of the few patrons had turned to stare.

The blonde, who had been arranging menus, looked up. Glancing over him, she spoke softly, "I'm sorry, but you must have me confused with someone else. My unit doesn't go by that name. Are you looking for her? Are you looking for this Namine?"

The simulated confusion and genuine innocence in her eyes and smile left Axel a bit shaken, "No, sorry for bothering you." He took Roxas' hand for some reassurance that he was still sane. After all, this imposter Namine looked _just _like her. Voice down to the way her shell would have looked, they were identical.

Roxas glanced between the AI and his boyfriend clearly trying to put together the pieces, and when it clicked, his eyes went wide. 'Oh, so that's why he's asking. I guess I can't blame him.' The younger teen released a small sigh of relief as she led them to their booth without a single mention of the slightly awkward mix up. What would Axel have even done if it was her? And why would something from his past be somewhere like this? It clearly wasn't her, and his mind switched to the task at hand. He was never one for socializing if he could avoid it, and this city environment left a whole new world to remember and connect with. Sora, Kairi, and Riku were already waiting, and it took Roxas a moment to sort through the diversity of characters that had been presented to him. Trying to start off on the right foot, he smiled wide, "Hi, I'm Roxas."

The tallest male reluctantly offered his name, "I'm Riku."

"And I'm Kairi. You've already met the goofball over here." The auburn haired girl smiled widely motioning the brunette who had cheeks full of pancake, "Sora told me a bit about you since the two of you met yesterday. Welcome to the city, how have you been enjoying it?"

Her smile relaxed the blond some, so he grinned in return, "It's different, but I've been here before, so it's nothing too new."

After greetings and introductions were out of the way, the couple took their seats and chattered small talk with the other three. Axel was still a little dazed at finding a duplicate of his father's old work. Even though Roxas had made a comment between the two that, "Honestly Axel, it's not her. Let it be. She just happens to look the same." To Axel, it couldn't have been a coincidence, though. When he started to focus back in on the table's word the conversation turned from small remarks about the weather to more friendly stuff: How has the school year been? How's your mom? Who are you dating, Kairi? Oh, Riku, don't be rude. Sora, you changed your hair. Axel, you're looking good.

The worlds all melted together, and questions were repeated and answered lazily in a familiar way. The early morning had something to do with the drowsiness that seemed to cover them with a blanket, and the AI waitress floated in and out getting their orders. Honestly, Roxas and the trio would have never been up at this hour on a normal weekend. Only the competition could have roused such night owls at an early hour. "Schools almost over." Sora finally commented, "Are you going to start hanging out with us again?" He asked Axel, "Roxas can come too. I'm sure the others will like him." From what Axel had said earlier, Roxas figured the others meant the guys out in the pits. Or whatever Axel had called them.

Riku was a bit reluctant to let this new guy, Roxas, hang out with them. From what he had seen, he had a mediocre knowledge of code, and if anything, he'd be slowing the group up if they started on any collaborative projects. Just as he was about to open his mouth, a direct glare from Kairi shut him up, because she knew little about the workings of computers, but she still operated as the brains of their group most of the time. She was fairly creative when it came to brain storming, so she provided excellent ideas. Plus, there was always the reason that even if Axel wasn't exactly his buddy, Riku should respect the guy enough based on his own knowledge, and that should shelter the people he kept company with.

Axel decided to answer the question after a sip of coffee, "Yeah, I can see us visiting again. I guess I just needed to get over my irrational fear of you city people again before I could start coming back. Part of it depends on how Xion, my AI, does at the competition, though. I really think she can take first in Reality Composition. She's something special. If she does well, I might use the prize money to work on her shell." Prize money? That was the first Roxas had heard of it.

"You should have brought her! Heart isn't anything special, so he's no fun to talk to, but Xion seems like she could be good conversation." Kairi laughed, "I mean I hardly ever get to talk to really sentient AI a lot. All Riku and Sora do is demolition _all the time._"

"I resent that." Riku snorted as his eggs arrived, and the waitress took Axel and Roxas' order. "We worked on Box. Box was smart."

The young lady rolled her eyes, "It was like talking to an encyclopedia."

Sora had to acquiesce that this was true, "Yeah, he wasn't exactly friendly. There's a fine balance between a walking talking search engine and a Level 7. You're amazing at code, Riku. I got to give it to you, but you're lacking that little bit of love to push them into a Reality Composition category."

"Whatever. To each his own." The teen grumbled, taking a bite of his eggs.

"To each his own." Axel agreed, stirring his coffee. There was a moment of silence, and Roxas resisted the urge to sneeze. It was so quiet in the diner you would have thought someone had died. The redhead finally spoke. His voice was cautious and well aware that he was about to take the topic from casual to unconventional, "So…what do you guys know about nanomachines? Has any…new data surfaced since I was last in the city?"

Kairi and Sora both gave him a look of stony silence, "Axel…" The auburn girl whispered, looking around to see if anyone could eavesdrop, "Axel, what are you doing? We could- We could be arrested just for talking about this. You know human body modifications like this are highly illegal." What if there were listening devices in Meow's Chow? Wouldn't surprise her considering how many people who worked 'in the gray' tended to frequent the place.

"I'm not doing anything…yet." He admitted, "I just need to know if any of you know a guy."

Roxas could have mistaken this for a drug deal if he hadn't heard the whole of the conversation. Even he didn't know why Axel was asking for this stuff, and he shot his boyfriend a look of concern before giving his hand a squeeze. This had crossed the line, and he almost spoke up to put a stop to it before Riku's voice gave.

"I may know someone." He answered curtly, "Why? I may have some research too."

Sora kicked his friend underneath the table and hissed, "Don't you dare. Kairi and I told you not to hang out with those guys anymore." Rule breakers. The dark side of AI. No. Don't. "Speak and I'll make sure you forever hold your peace." Riku would be waking up in a casket if a name slipped past those forever frowning lips of his.

"It's fine." Axel intervened when Riku's thoughts stalled for a moment trying to decide between Axel, who would have money for these nanomachines, and his friendship with Sora. "It's fine. You don't need to tell me anything, Riku. In fact, I should have never brought it up. It was a silly idea in the first place."

And Kairi doesn't ask who he wants to modify because she knows it's not Axel himself. Axel is all too mortal and doesn't resent that fact of life. She's pretty sure it's that powdered sugar boy with his plump pink lips that look good enough to bite into. She's certain that it has something to do with the way his eyes sometimes look half empty. It frightens her that they're all dancing on the line of the law, and Axel doesn't mind making a dive off the deep end for love. How long had they even been together? How could someone understand and put forth that much devotion at such a young age?

Sora wants to say something too because Axel's only seventeen, and that's too young to lose a life to prison time. Why would one do that to themselves? Hell, he had enough trouble keeping Riku out of trouble. The longer this silence seemed to spin itself, the more frightened he got. Glancing at Roxas, he wishes he'd say something.

But no, Roxas is too raveled up in his own world where everything is perfect if he can just ignore the tick, tick, tick of the clock. His own clock. And he wants to save Axel now. He wants the two of them to leave because Axel's ruined the party by talking about unspeakable things. The redhead realizes it too. In a single moment, they all decide to erase that from their memory when the waitress returns, "Refills?"

"No," Roxas states, "I think we'll have the bill."

Even once they've paid, the topic is still heavy on everyone's mind. Sora, Kairi, and Riku all decide to head out the front, "We'll catch you two later today." The brunette offers a small smile of reassurance. Reassurance that they can forget Axel ever said anything.

Axel's face is occupied by a lopsided grin, "See ya. Sorry again that I had to go and ruin our meal."

Kairi laughs softly, "Don't worry it wasn't ruined. Have a good afternoon!"

"Bye." Roxas opens the backdoor for Axel back into the alleyway, and he takes the redhead's hand. "You're dumb." The blond mutters under his breath.

A pause. A long pause, because the redhead is already upset, and he already knows he screwed up. "But I think that's okay." Roxas gives his boyfriend's hand a squeeze, "Because I know, whatever it was back there, if it's one of your ideas, it's something out of this world."

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**Hey guys! I'm taking a week long trip to go see my friends, but I'll have no internet access! That means I'll be missing two updates, and no, sorry. I won't be making them up. Your next CotU chapter will be Friday the 31st! Thanks Layla for Betaing~ Review!**


	16. Chapter 16

The walk back to the hotel was longer than the Great Wall of China. Axel went through a wave of emotions from guilt to anger, but all of that simmered beneath the surface and faded when Roxas began to chatter on as if nothing had happened. When they stopped at a bench in the shade, he couldn't help but snort at the goofball the blond was with a bit of sugar in his system, "And then a dinosaur comes out of nowhere and attacks the city! Raaawr!" He brought his arms up to his sides to make tiny tyrannosaurus rex arms before tackling the other.

The redhead couldn't help but laugh as his boyfriend peeked up at him from beneath a mess of honey golden spikes, "Well what should _I _the simple human pedestrian do about it?" He asked pushing the hair away to press a kiss to Roxas' nose.

"Kiss me." He cooed, "Because dinosaurs love kisses."

Axel laughed, "Oh do they? I didn't know. I guess they'll have to fix all those history books. Look out Smithsonian Museum! Axel Brennant here with a brand new discovery." Pressing his lips to the blond's in a soft simple kiss, he consciously made sure no one was staring. He personally wasn't the biggest on PDA, but Roxas seemed to like small stuff like this, so he tolerated it. Pulling away, he pecked the smaller teens cheek, "Have I defeated you, dinosaur?"

Making something similar to a screech, the boy crumbled in Axel's lap, "Yes, yes you have." He sat back up with the world's largest smile plastered across his face.

"God, you're such a goof." Axel laughed, tucking sunshine strips behind perfect little ears, "You're never getting sugar again."

"I didn't have sugar this morning!" Roxas proclaimed, distracted by a bird. "I had pancakes and juice!"

"Okay, you had pancakes, but that doesn't mean that you had to have a gallon of syrup on them. I'm pretty sure that you're going to have type two diabetes when you're older."

The blond turned and made a face at him, "Pffft, yeah right." This kid was precious. So precious. How was he so lucky to have ended up with him? He was beautiful and silly and kind, ugh. He was giving himself a cavity from how sweet it all was.

"Alright, upsi-daisies. Let's get this show on the road." Axel stood and helped the younger teen to his feet. Following at his heels like a puppy, Roxas trotted behind him.

When they entered the lobby, the redhead spotted his mother crossing the room in her high heels, "Hey, babe." She gave her son's forehead a kiss as she hurriedly put her phone back in her purse, "I'm going to head over to the art museum while you guys are at your competition, okay? If you want me there, just text me and let me know, but I got the general vibe yesterday that you guys would probably prefer to just hang out by yourselves."

"Well don't say it like that. You make it sound like we don't want you." Axel laughed, "That's fine though, Mom. We'll be safe and responsible and all that jazz. Xion's practically a baby sitter in her own right. 'Don't jump off of that! Don't run! You'll slip! Chew with your mouth closed!'" He snickered.

Sighing, his mother simply shook her head a smile tugging at her lips, "Alright, bye, sweetheart."

"Bye mom!" Once she was gone, he took Roxas' hand again.

"Is it just me or was your mom awfully dressed up?" The blonde asked, looking behind them to watch the woman walk away, "Because she was wearing a lot of makeup and a dress. Plus heels."

"I dunno. My mom is kind of private and lets me do what I want most of the time. If she wants to dress up, it's probably for her own reason, and she'll tell me if she wants to." Axel hummed, "Kind of like how I'll tell her about us when I want, but she kind of already knows."

Roxas' brows shot straight up, "She does?"

The redhead chuckled, "Well yeah, of course she does. It's pretty obvious, Rox."

"I guess it is." He mumbled, "You have lipstick on your forehead." A small hand reached up and wiped the pink smudge away, "That's better."

Axel voice went sing-song, "Thank you, so what now, Rox? Want me to take you to Paris? Tokyo? Our _empty_ hotel room?" Roxas opened his mouth, "Kidding, Xion is in there. How could you forget about her? How rude!" He teased.

Roxas puffed up his cheeks and sulked like a small child, "I was _about _to say, I'd like to head to the competition, so Xion can be on time for her match. We only have an hour and a half until it starts."

"Oh. Good point."

Once back up in their room, Xion beamed and clambered off the bed to meet them at the door, "Hey you guys! What's up? How was breakfast?" She wished that they had told her that they were going out, but she assumed they must have gotten asked out while she was still in _The Database_. Still a bit rude. /Anger/ /

"It was good." Roxas gave her a hug which surprised the AI, "Ready to leave? Today is your big day!"

Smiling, she nodded quickly, "I took protocol this morning and checked for any errors. I'm set to go!" Taking Axel's hand, the blond took back burner for a minute and followed behind the two as they started for the lobby.

"Hey Xion, did my mom seem oddly dressed up this morning?" The redhead questioned curiously as he pressed the button for the elevator.

"Well she was going on a date, so I would assume not. Isn't it normal to dress up on a date? You and Roxas do it. He's always 8% more attractive when the two of you are going on a date, and you're 12% which is relative to the amount of time you spend in the bathroom fixing your hair." She shrugged.

Axel's jaw dropped, "Oh whoa."

"I know." Roxas mumbled, "Only 8%?"

"No, you dolt! My mom has a boyfriend! Or at least a date." The fact surprised him, but it made since considering how long ago his dad had passed away.

"Well she's probably lonely Axel. I mean if you think about it, she probably hasn't gotten laid in-" The blond was stopped mid-sentence by a shard of glass sharp glare.

Axel grumbled, "I just want her to be happy. If she's going out, that's good. I know she has her Bunco group and everything, so if she's doing the do and happy with who she's doing it with, then I don't care." Maturity was important, especially in situations like this.

Xion nodded, "Yeah, she has a user on Date-me-dine-me. You didn't know?" She was plugged into the wi-fi most of the time, so she was well aware of the browser history, much to Axel's chagrin.

"Clearly not." He huffed, "Oh well, it's not like I can do anything about it." When the elevator arrived, they stepped inside, "So I know that the first round is similar to a Jeopardy style thing. They don't want encyclopedia brains in there, so it's an easy round for you to pass, because I corrected your filter and you'll get one out of eight wrong. Don't worry about getting things wrong. It's human."

"Sadly." Roxas grumbled, "I _wish _I got a perfect on every test. That would be _awesome_."

"Oh hush your silly butt." Axel rolled his eyes, "Your grades are fine. Fucking honor roll and all that."

The blond's voice rose a bit, "You could be too if you applied yourself!"

"You sound like my mother! Yack yack yack!" The redhead laughed and Xion did too.

"It's true!" She giggled, "His mom is always asking him why his grades aren't better even though he's fairly smart."

"Oh well thanks for the 'fairly' bit." Axel chortled, turning to see Roxas' grumpy face, "Oooh, don't be like that. I think you're splendid." He kissed the blond's cheek, "I like you. I like you a lot. Don't sulk." Nuzzling the other a bit, he pulled away before the door opened, "Alright!" He exclaimed as they stepped out into the fairly busy lobby, "Let's do this!" High fiving Xion and Roxas, the group set off for the competition.

Roxas couldn't help but laugh at the excitement, "Team Xion for the win!"

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**I promised Friday and it's _still sorta kind of Friday _for me at least ^-^' Review! Layla for Beta~**


	17. Chapter 17

Axel's mind was occupied by thoughts of who his mother could possibly be seeing all day, but those all flooded to the back of his mind as Xion's eyes opened wide at the wonders of the competition, "Wow," Her jaw dropped /surprise/ /excitement/. "I've never seen so many AI." 'Well, except in _The Database_' she thought, "I can talk to all of them, right?" Like a puppy excited to be to its first dog park, she didn't know where to begin.

"Well Xi," Roxas stepped in with the cool voice or reality, "Just remember that some of them are demolition AI or will just be pretty to the eye." He didn't really know what 'aesthetics' entailed, but that seemed about right.

Axel snickered, "Not so much pretty. Just unique in their frame work. Think like an artist kind of deal, like we make a frame that looks relatively human all the time. We make the 'perfect frame' something in our own image since humans are all a bit narcissistic. The aesthetics group is usually making a frame that doesn't look human at all, has a unique person or is artistically pleasing to the eye, and still can fulfill its purpose. It's actually a decently hard category to perform in. Out of all of these, I'd say the demolition is the most entertaining to watch, the aesthetics one is cool to wander through before judging, and the reality composition is the most difficult since there's so many entries and if one line of code is off, you're screwed. That's putting it nicely."

Continuing on to check in, the redhead entered their names into the system and printed Xion's AI recognition tag as well as the rules, round guide, and terms and conditions. "Here you go." He smiled hanging the lanyard and tag around her neck.

"Ah, I'm nervous." She flexed her hands. "You're not just going to sign those, are you?" She hoped Axel would actually read them. There was always _something _slipped in there. After all, the Apple Corporation had terms like 'One can't use their devices to make nuclear weapons' and such. She didn't want Axel signing away his life.

"No," He assured her, "I'll actually read them. We can still participate in the challenges without signing them. I just can't accept a prize without turning this in."

"What's the prize anyway?" Rox questioned, "I haven't actually heard anything about it."

Axel cleared his throat, "Well it varies from year to year. Usually it's monetary and they offer you an internship at the robotics company of your choice. Usually people pick Moshiva. That's actually how my dad started working there. He won this competition about twenty something years ago, and they invited him into the fold. I feel like working there is kind of cultish, though, considering how we live in a neighborhood and go to a school with only people from and related to Moshiva employees." It was common for companies to do that now. They made little towns and communities so their employees would be taken care of and all know each other. It wasn't an uncommon practice. After all, the coal towns of West Virginia and oil companies of Texas had long been doing it before renewable energy became a way of life. It felt a bit oppressive at the same time, though.

The blond nodded and took Axel's hand, "So you're saying you could give or take the prize and mostly just care about title?"

"Well no, I would like the cash. I mean I really would because I could do some pretty cool stuff with it." Improve Xion's frame. Buy some nanobots… "But I don't want to have to sign with a company or anything, and I'd be under a lot of pressure to do so from my mom, who works there, and the audience." He'd be uncomfortable with it. "Plus…my code is patented, Rox, and my dad lost his patents to the company when he got onboard." The redhead didn't want to risk losing Xion. Even with the few lines that he had removed and would be adding when they got back, a discovery of what Xion was would be catastrophic. His father's good name would be tarnished, and he himself would go to prison.

Roxas seemed to show empathy. The redhead and his boyfriend were both aware that Roxas was not as experienced and was definitely a bit slower when it came to understanding things, but he made up for that in heart and his ability to listen without judgment. "I'm sure whatever you do at the end of this competition, Ax, will be the right thing to do." Giving his partner's hand a reassuring squeeze, the smaller teen looked around at the gobs of people flitting in and out of the kiosks around them to get tags for their AI. Moving further into the event center, Rox made sure Xion was still following them. He knew for a fact that she hadn't ignored their conversation and was fully aware of all that was said. The blonde knew Axel didn't like handling her like a dog or a slave, but that was sometimes what she became.

And sometimes, that's what she ignored about herself. She hadn't heard that conversation. She pretended not to acknowledge the fact that they could delete her, modify her, change her, sell her, kill her in broad daylight and _no one _would care. Witnesses might be a little surprised that an owner might act out like that, but that's what she was. She was non-living. Hitting a dog with your car was more traumatic than her hard drive being destroyed.

It hurt.

Or maybe it didn't, because all her emotions were simulated. Cold. Hard. Calculated.

Roxas' and Axel's faces were occupied by wonder as they followed the crowd through the vomitorium into the reality composition room. "I guess this is where you'll be answering questions." The redhead mumbled, "Holy cow. There's so many set ups." It was as if there were a thousand sets of Jeopardy. Copies of copies. One could watch the show forever here as if stuck in some twisted episode of _The Twilight Zone_.

"Yeah, but the games will be run by other AI, Ax." The blond pointed out as they headed over to a 3-D hologram that was giving a virtual walkthrough of how the first round would go down.

They waited a few seconds for the end of the tape to be run, and the beginning of the cycle picked back up. "_Welcome to the Reality Composition section of this year's annual AI Competition. Yes, the name is a little bland._" The holograph woman giggled a bit. She was breathtakingly beautiful, and Roxas wondered who had put so much painstaking detail into her features, "_But that's only because the original creators could not decide on a name. Facts are cool, and so is your AI which I'm sure you're hoping will go far in this year's difficult rounds. As you can most likely see, the first round today will be similar to the old game show Jeopardy. If you do not know what that is, press simulation at the end of this presentation for me to show you. Your AI will go through several questions presented by the Host AI. Error, emotion displayed at a wrong or right answer, and code will all be analyzed during this process. The top one hundred AI will proceed to the second round later this evening. That round will not be revealed until winners are announced. The top one hundred will be picked fairly as the Host AI are unbiased by looks or emotion. The third and final round will be held late tomorrow afternoon and only ten will participate in it. Good luck! I hope you go far!_"

"I wonder what the third round could be." Xion thought aloud as she mulled over the words.

"I dunno." Roxas hummed, "Oh look! They're starting to scan in AI, so they can find their places!" Taking Xion's hand, he escorted her over to the AI (he was guessing it was a Level 6) with Axel, "Do you want us to stay, or is it cool if me and Ax leave to go look at the aesthetics bots? We'll be back before the end, promise."

"Um…" Honestly she wanted them to stay, "You guys can go." She cocked her head to the side and smiled, "Be safe! Don't get lost. Take care and don't be too long!"

"Good luck! We believe in you, Xion!" The two hugged her and headed off before disappearing into the crowd.

Looking around, the onyx haired computer sighed. There were so many custom AI here, she wondered how humans could give a robot a lesser value based on being 'all the same' at all. Getting scanned in, she headed over to the small set that she had been assigned and took her seat. How long would Roxas and Axel be? She was well aware that they were going out, even if they tried to be relatively private about it. Their relationship had deepened greatly in the last few days as they overcome the 'honeymoon phase' and Roxas' personality had begun to change as well.

"Hello," The AI next to her hummed. It was pretty common for avatars to be female since most of the creators were male. She wished there were more male AI, though. It was hard to explore anything more than friendship with those around her. Then again, romanticism wasn't really in her program. Still, it wasn't as if the concept of love was impossible. Wasn't love just what she saw on the TV screen when they watched movies up in Axel's room? Was it not the closest of bonds where emotions were shared fully and completely? Wasn't it, to some degree, what she saw between the redhead and Roxas?

She would have to think about this.

The longer this competition went, the more she had to think about.

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**Does anyone actually like this story? I've heard from two people regularly. Review, please! Thanks Layla for Beta**


	18. Chapter 18

"_Fuck!_" Larxene brought her finger to her mouth and sucked at where the elevator belt had pinched down on the skin. Laving the muscle over the broken flesh, she hissed at the pain and taste of blood. 'This is what I get for not turning it off sooner. At least it's better than that time I got burned on the motor.' Tightening the part back up with the screwdriver, she had finished the two o'clock repair.

Of course in about an hour, there would be a complaint that the Floor Three Escalator B was broken _again_ and that she should do something about it, so she would take the missing part from Floor Two Escalator A up there and slide it into place. The cycle would repeat, and her boss would complain that, "Geez, is one of these things always broken?" Of course he knew that yes, one of them was always broken because two years ago when Larxene had decided higher education was for chumps, she had learned that for the past thirteen years, one of the escalators at the Park Springs Mall had been broken because Higher Metals had gone out of business and no other escalator repair company carried the parts she needed to properly repair the machines.

To combat this issue, she had been slyly shuffling the few parts between the six escalators, so that at any given time, it seemed that only on of their escalator was down instead of one single one all the time. It made sense to her. It made sense to the boss. It's what she got paid to do. "Larx, you have a work order put in from store 702, something about their lights not working." An employee from some mall stall peeked their head in her office and handed her the paper.

Putting out her cigarette, she stood and snatched the paper from the teen's hand, "Alright, thanks." Not really, it meant that she had to go fix some stupid electrical wiring and honestly she wasn't paid enough to do some electrician's job.

Larxene prided herself at being a babe. Hell, it wasn't easy to look this good. She worked _hard_. Not that Marluxia, her roommate (and maybe long time fuck-buddy-not-going-to-be-anything-more), ever noticed. 'Fuck him, he's an asshole anyways. He's so in love with his computer it's creepy.' The guy spent more time indoors working in the dimly lit room than she did at work, trying to bring home a paycheck for the two of them. 'I don't know why I don't just throw him out.' He never cooked, cleaned, or did anything remotely helpful around the house. 'Total waste of space.' Rolling up her sleeves, she headed off to the shop.

After work, she let down her hair and headed home. Another thing the blonde boasted was her ability to save money. By walking and not taking the bus, she could save an extra sixty- five bucks a month. Sure it was a hike, but again, how else was she supposed to get in her exercise? Unlocking the door to her ranch style house when she got home, Larxene called out to see if Marluxia was still alive, "You here?"

"Always." At least he hadn't passed out from the heat, the asshat.

Throwing her keys and bag down, she grunted, "What do you want for dinner?"

"Whatever you want to make." He answered back.

Honestly.

It wasn't as if Marluxia didn't bring in any money, though. He did, even if it was in a way that Larxene hated. "Did you do anything productive today?" She always sounded like she was whining around him, ugh. 'Grow up, Larxene. Big girls don't cry.'

"Brought home the bacon." Cry. Cry. Cry. Why wasn't he coming out of his room?

Are you okay? Were you hurt? Did you do anything I need to worry about? Who did you sell a part of your soul to today? "Do you want me to fix it?" Lines, this was all rehearsed. This was a stage, and the words were a double entendre every single time. Do you want me to fix it? Do you want me to fix you?

She wasn't paid enough to be a nurse.

Or a therapist.

Or a maid.

Or an accomplice in a crime of this magnitude.

"Can you come on out to eat?" Her words were strong and demanding like she tried to be. An iron woman, that's what she thought herself. There were no tears because tears caused rust.

She was invincible.

When the pink haired man emerged from the part of the house that they both recognized as his, she bit the inside of her cheek, "How much?"

"A couple thousand. It was only a vile." Marluxia's voice was rich and smooth. He could have been a con-man or a lawyer with a voice like that.

Checking him over, she rolled her eyes, "Alright. That'll let us catch up on the house payments." Wish some old place in a neighborhood as crappy as this didn't break their bank, but it had to do. "I guess I'll do pasta." It was too near the end of the month for there to be meat in the sauce, but food was food. Pasta was always cheap yet filling.

Marluxia pulled out a chair, "Sounds good." He had started picking at his skin again. She saw the marks before he pulled down his sleeve to hide it from her. Looking up, he knew he was caught. She was the judge and the verdict was guilty.

"That's an ugly habit." She grumbled, slapping his hand away from the hem of his sleeve.

He snorted, "You know I'll just fix them up later."

"Just because you make nanomachines, doesn't mean you should use them to fix every little problem." Larxene hissed.

The man's grip on the chair tightened, "And so what if I do, huh?" His eyes challenged her for a long moment, "You won't do anything. We all know who runs this pony show."

Her face twisted up in a snarl, "I hate you."

"Then why are you still here?"

Sometimes Larxene wondered if Marluxia was actually an AI, his emotions were cold, hard, calculated. The way he treated her was as if he knew she'd never leave. They were caustic to each other. Burning, tearing, scratching. The sex was rough; the words were sharper. Pulling away like she had been slapped, the blonde moved to the stove.

They stood there in the dim light like that for a while. Listening to the water boil.

"I'm sorry." He didn't mean it. "I'm sorry. I'll make this up to you, Larxene. Why don't we go somewhere on your day off, baby?" Baby, he was sweet talking now. Fucker.

"Where?" Couldn't afford to go somewhere nice, but she had been baited.

"They're having that AI competition. Riku and the little twerps will be down there. They got like, some art garden thing. I can cook." He was digging deep now for something. They both could tell, "I'll make a picnic. There will be kids there." He knew that she didn't even like Riku. She didn't like any of his clients or friends, but she did like kids. She loved kids.

Larxene bit her lip, leaving him on the edge for as long as possible, "Alright." She snorted, "I'll go."

Marluxia was wise not to sigh in relief, "That's my girl." He padded over slowly to where she was standing. His bare feet stuck to the tile in that clammy way, and the pink haired man slipped his long arms around her, pulling the blonde against his body. "Larxene, you're my everything, baby girl. I need you." He whispered soft into her ear before kissing her cheek.

Lies. Lies. Lies.

Artificial.

No one in this city had time for anyone but themselves. Least of all love.

* * *

**I had a lot of fun writing this! Review :D**


	19. Chapter 19

Heading on over to the demolition arenas, Roxas' jaw dropped as he watched gladiator battle after gladiator battle between robots, "This is so cool." He whispered to his boyfriend, "You should enter this one next year!"

"I don't know." Axel shrugged, "I'm not super into this type." Honestly he couldn't really stand the sound of frames smacking against each other and the idea of his projects breaking. It took a certain type of personality for each kind of category. "But next year, if you want, I can help you enter this one." He offered the blond, rubbing his back supportively.

Roxas repeated the redhead's words right back at him, "I don't know." A pause, "I've been thinking lately." Okay, Axel suddenly didn't know where this was going, and the insecurity of it frightened him, "I think I want to write a book."

"A book?" The words sounded hollow against the roar of the world around them, and his heart, which had plummeted, was back in his chest pounding happily. Axel felt everything seem to fade away, and it was just him and Roxas. "Yeah?" His tone held a bit of excitement, "You want to write a book?" Fantastic, he was so happy for the blond. The taller teen had observed his boyfriend and could tell that he had always been a little lackluster, but the way his eyes lit up when he said _I want to write a book_ said it all. How could Axel not support him?

The blond's smile was delicate as he tried to read the other, "Well, I'm already sort of writing it. I mean, I like robotics and AI construction, but it's more of my dad's thing than mine. My passion for it has been dying lately, and I don't really feel like putting my money there anymore. I've been working on this story you see. You know how you just get one of those feelings sometime? Like you meet someone, read a poem, listen to a song and it just grabs you and you know that for life that moment and object will be with you for as long as time can tell? Well, I don't have much time." He knew this as well as the redhead, "But I've only gotten a feeling like this twice in my life. Once was when I found out you were gay, and I was like, 'Axel is everything I could imagine in a significant other. He's handsome, supportive, and kind.' The other time was when I woke up from one of my dreams a few months ago, and I was like, 'You know, that was really cool. I feel like I should share that with the world.'" Taking a break to think, Roxas licked his bottom lip, "I mean I know I don't talk all the time, and I'm only decent in math, but I got all these words up in my head. I read, you know. I read a lot, and if there are two things I want to do in this world: it's to make sure that you are never forgotten and to…well, love you as dumb as it sounds." He blushed and suddenly the match going on in front of him became engrossing.

Axel picked his words carefully, "I think your story, Roxas, is going to be fantastic." Pulling his boyfriend to him in a soft embrace, he leaned down and whispered in his ear as the boy buried his face in the redhead's warm chest, "And no matter what happens, no matter where you go or how long you live, I will love you. I will always love you because in life, we have special moments where everything clicks, and I am no writer, that's your job now, but I know that in this moment, you have decided to pursue something that truly fulfills you. All I ask is, when you write, write from the heart. "

The blond gripped his shirt tightly, and the redhead thought Roxas might have cried a little bit, but he wasn't sure, "All I know is that it's going to be something special." The small teen promised his boyfriend.

"And why wouldn't it be?" Axel smiled adoringly, "You're special."

* * *

They were back in time to watch Xion finish, and Roxas was the first to hug her when she won an impressive victory. "You're amazing!" He exclaimed as Axel took his turn to hug her and accept her ticket to the next round.

"Congratulations, Xi! You did awesome!" She got a solid thumbs up and a smile from him, "You want to do anything special since you won?" /excitement/

Xion could hardly contain herself because all these people were congratulating her just for passing the _first _round. Let alone the second, "I want to-! I want to-…" Hmm, she actually needed to think about this, "I want to go to the beach!" The beaches in _The Database _were gorgeous, but even though she lived near an ocean, she had never been.

Axel bit his lip in thought, "Alright, I'll see what I can do! Anyways! Great job! We need to head to the arena area, so they can announce the second rounds on the holo TV." Holographic televisions were a modern miracle, and the redhead was grateful that they had them because their spectrum of uses was wide and fascinating.

Once they had settled down in their seats, the stadium went silent as the woman who had introduced the first round to the gang began to speak, "_Congratulations to those of you that passed the first round! Isn't this exciting?! Alright! For demolition, you'll be given your match number in thirty minutes at the front stand. For aesthetics, please don't do anything. Your AI can remain here. We are locking the room and have the highest security; they will be safe. Judging will be done tomorrow. For reality composition, your second match is tonight. It will be a battle of morals. Please register your robot at 6:45. It is currently 2 o'clock. You are all released! Good luck!_"

Looking to her friends, the AI shrugged, "What do you guys want to do?"

"I guess I want to head to the hotel room." Axel looked to Roxas, "You?"

"Sounds fine, we might as well nap before the next round." The blond smiled. 'Plus Axel's mom isn't around, so he and I can cuddle while Xion watches TV.' The mass of people began to surge towards the doors, and drowsiness suddenly covered him like a cloak, "Actually, the more I think about it, a nap sounds perfect."

"A nap it is then."

* * *

**Review! All the fluff next chapter! :D **


	20. Chapter 20

Roxas liked being the big spoon. He could tell from the way that Axel pressed his back against his chest and pulled the blond's arm over his waist he enjoyed it too. The redhead never was big on admitting things, but sometimes he needed a bit of protection. From what? He didn't know, but when Roxas was beside him cooing sweet words into his ear, he felt reassured. Tugging at the hem of his boyfriend's shirt, the smaller teen lifted the fabric up and off, so more skin was exposed. Removing his shirt as well, Roxas began pressing soft kisses to the redhead's shoulder. Xion watched them with disdain from the bed.

"Don't mind me. I'll just be majorly third wheeling over here why you guys enjoy getting to second base."

Axel snorted, "Oh hush, the TV's on. It's not like we're doing anything inappropriate."

"I don't know that. Your lower halves are both under the covers, and from what I can see Roxas is definitely enjoying himself." She was being sassy, and Roxas just wanted uninterrupted cuddles.

"You're being annoying." The blond sighed, "Come on, Xion. We hardly ever have time to do stuff like this."

She arched one of her ceramic brows, "Oh? If I'm so annoying, why don't you turn me off?" A challenge.

Axel didn't like how fast this was escalating, "Xion, don't say things like that. Roxas, apologize." Pulling himself away from his boyfriend's reach, he flopped on the other bed where the AI was sitting. "Honestly you two."

Sulking, Roxas couldn't help but think to himself, 'You're honestly going to choose her over me? Come back. Why couldn't you have stayed over here?' "Sorry, Xion." Not sorry at all. She was the one who had started everything. Her opinion shouldn't even matter. She was an AI. Who cared if she saw anything? They could just wipe her memory. They could shut her down.

And now he was angrier because he was being a jerk and he _knew it_. Rolling onto his side, he stared at the wall while Axel and Xion watched TV. That impending feeling of loneliness was back and was sinking its steak knife teeth into him. Picking his shirt up off the floor, he slid it on, so he could feel shielded from the cool air-conditioning. Back on the bed, his mind began to wonder. He hoped Axel wasn't angry with him.

He couldn't go back to those lonely summers if they broke up.

Summers in the past were spent on the lake where the bugs were thick and the humidity was thicker. Where there were still paperboys, and he felt like cars from the 1950's would come rolling down the fine sticky black asphalt at any moment. It was a land that had escaped time, and people here were living the life their grandparents had lived. Instead of progressing with the rest of the world, some small towns had seemingly gone off the grid. Small towns where 'small town values' and gas stations with glass bottle pop still hung around. Whatever those aforementioned values entailed, Roxas had no idea, but he did know that some of the people there could be very…opinionated.

The first thing Roxas thought about when he remembered school was going to be over in three weeks was if his parents would make him go down there this year. He wasn't too fond of leaving the beach like he was forced to every single May to head back to Lakewood. Maybe since he had a boyfriend now, he would be allowed to stay? What would happen if he got really sick on his trip and Axel didn't know? The idea worried him. Another reason (besides Axel because Axel was pretty much all of his reasons), that he didn't want to go down there was that he would be set up to go to all the youth group events. It's not that he had anything against the youth group; it was just how his elderly grandparents guilt tripped him about it. "Are you sure you don't want to go? Sarah will be so disappointed."

"Tom is going to be there! I know how you two get along!" Bless his grandparents. It wasn't like they weren't trying hard enough to get him out of the house, but contrary to how most people thought him, he wasn't a social person, well, he was and he wasn't. When forced to mingle with others, he was a gregarious teen, but if he had yet to leave the comfort of his private chrysalis and computer, there was no pressing desire in him to be a social butterfly. For a whole two and a half months, he didn't really want to sit around with people who didn't really understand him or want to understand him.

Plus the stigma of a grim reaper loitering behind him was a turn off for anyone who wanted to form a longtime friendship. The usual greeting he got with acquaintances when he went down there was, "Man, glad you made it through another year!" Thanks. Me too.

Studying the ceiling of the hotel room, his eyes bored into it so long, he began finding shapes and faces. Even a giraffe. That's when a hand went over his eyes and made him jerk a little, "Sorry." Axel chuckled, "Xion decided she'd power off to give us time alone together. You must have been so zoned you didn't hear her." In a way, it was her way of apologizing too since she had been challenging the blond. She just wanted her time in the sun. Somehow, Axel's attention was always consumed by Roxas, and she couldn't help feel something dark and gnawing on her heart. "What were you thinking about?"

"Stuff." He mumbled with a frown, "How this summer I'll have to go back to Lakewood." Axel was climbing back into bed, and he got a good view of the redhead's strong arms and shoulders, "I'm sorry for being mean to Xion." He really meant it this time, "I don't know what came over me."

"You're probably just tired; she was being a bit of a jerk." Now it was the taller teen's turn to provide comfort, and Roxas couldn't help but feel his mood slightly improve. "Just apologize to her when she wakes up. What else were you thinking about? Want to tell me about your story?"

"They say that if you tell someone you're going to do something, you're less likely to do it. I already told you that I'm writing a story, so I don't want to double jinx my chances of completion by telling you the plot." The blond leaned back into his boyfriend, "But I will tell you something that I was thinking about putting in it. I was in the shower a couple days ago, and the sudden realization hit me that people are like houses. Houses have all different kind of entryways. Some are small and only welcome on in a few people. Some are big and allow for a lot of people to get in. The kitchen can be large with a huge capacity for a lot of recipes, or it can be a single microwave and a fridge. The living room can have room for an exclusive few. Could not be cozy; could be cozy, and have a lot of room. Houses can have basements full of secrets and junk that people are hiding. Or they can be open and welcoming. Their bedrooms could be large and used often or small and only one person is using it."

"What I'm saying is that houses, in their own weird way, are a fairly easy to compare to people." Roxas finished the thought with a happy sigh.

Axel kissed the patch of skin behind the teen's ear, "What kind of house would you say I am?" He whispered softly.

"Um...two story. Everything about you is pretty simpler in layout, except you have some things you're hiding, so a basement is added. Your bedroom is small because you're not exactly quick to get in anyone's pants. Your kitchen is big because you're surprisingly good at cooking." He smiled at the thought. The redhead cooking for him, although rare, was one of his favorite things to watch, "Your living room area is wide and cozy. Everyone gets their attention from you and feels well liked. And the house is made out of brick or something really strong because you're really supportive."

"Why thank you." He didn't like that bit about a basement, but he supposed it was true.

Roxas rolled over and faced him to begin connecting their lips in soft warm kisses, "I don't want to go to Lakewood this summer. I feel like I'll miss everything if I go." He admitted, nuzzling against the underside of his boyfriend's jaw.

"We can go ask your mom together. I'm sure if you at least make an effort to visit your grandparents, even if it's for two weeks or something, they might call it good. I don't want you to be gone all that long either." The heat from the blond's small body was perfect, and the redhead kissed the top of his head. "What if I don't like my mom's boyfriend?" He asked softly for the other's opinion. "I don't want to be that stereotypical kid from the TV dramas that throws a tantrum because I think he's replacing my dad.

"Do you think he's replacing your dad?"

"No."

"Are you going to make an effort to get along?"

"Yes."

"You'll be fine, Axel." Roxas cooed, "You worry too much."

The redhead laughed a bit, "I guess I do…" Kissing the other softly, he pressed a bit and easily received the French kiss he had been looking for. Cupping the blond's cheek, he was surprised when Roxas began to suck his tongue languidly, "I thought you've never done this before." He snorted when they had broken apart for air.

"Google is a beautiful thing. I think the key words were 'How to French kiss'." He teased, "I'm not just going to sit back and let you do everything."

Axel swallowed thickly, "I- I kind of got a confession about that, Rox… You know how you've kind of been assuming that I've been around the block? Well…"

"Wait? So…virgin?" The blond cocked his head slightly and propped himself up on his elbow, "I thought you'd gone all the way." He could have sworn that Axel has said he'd done the dirty.

"Well, I gave Bobby Hansen oral once, but it was really bad and I gagged." The redhead blushed a bit, "So I mean, I've never like, penetrated or anything. Or been penetrated, because if you want to top that's cool too."

Roxas looked the other over and began to laugh, "You're so fucking perfect." He began to shower his boyfriend with affectionate kisses, "God, I love you. You're so cute, ya know that?"

Axel didn't know what he had said to warrant this sudden outburst of affection, but he accepted it with open arms, "Why's that?"

"Because I had been really scared that you were going to be all experienced, but now that I know that we're both going to be awful, I'm way more relaxed." He hummed against the redhead's collarbone.

"You could never be awful, Rox. I'm sure it's going to be me that's the dork." He couldn't see how anyone as beautiful as Roxas would ever be judged about what they did in bed. It was all about the heart anyways, and the heart of the matter was that he loved Roxas.

The blond purred, "You're precious." He would have kissed the other again, but a yawn interrupted, and Axel let out a laugh.

"Alright, thank you very much. You're adorable and really do need that nap." He persuaded, "Sleep tight, Rox."

"But I'm not even sleepy!" He whined.

Axel snorted, "Uh-huh, shut those pretty eyes of yours and rest. See you in a few hours."

"…Sleep tight, Ax."

* * *

When they returned to the competition, Roxas made a formal apology to Xion and gave her a hug, "I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinking and it was rude of me to do that to you. I'll try to give you more time with Axel."

"And I'm sorry too." She frowned, "It wasn't nice of me to react like that, and I should have used my words instead of my temper." Now that they were on good terms again, she let out a sigh of relief, "I'll try to give you more time together as well. I guess we just need to respect one another's boundaries."

"For sure." Roxas nodded as they took their assigned seats in the arena, "Do you have any idea what they're going to make you do?"

"Well it's easy to test percent error and how humanlike my knowledge is, but I think this one has to do with morals and personal choices. Like they pretty much are eliminating by levels in a way. They got rid of some Level 4s and 5s last round. Now they're scrapping the Level 5s and as many 6s as they possibly can for the cream of the crop." Xion offered.

Axel was just about to speak when he got cut off by the holo TV, "_Hello everyone for reality composition! Tonight your AI is going to have the unique opportunity of judging the aesthetics portion of this competition! They're going to be issued a score sheet, pencils, and be let loose to choose five aesthetics robots to give a top score! This should over all take about an hour! Please begin to register if you're group 1A through 5A to get your sheet and pencil! This screen will now show what groups are calling! Please wait to be called!" _

"I'm beginning to think she's a little too chipper." Axel rolled his eyes as the TV blared 1A through 5A in big neon blue font.

Roxas laughed, "I'd be that pumped if my tiny existence was forty seconds long too, Ax. What's our registration number?"

"C2." Xion showed the two the card on the other side of her competition I.D. that was hanging on a lanyard around her neck.

"Oh, okay, cool. So we've got some time to burn." Axel hummed, "Want to go see if we can find Riku, Sora, and Kairi?"

Xion nodded eagerly, "Yeah, I haven't met them in person yet, and I'd really like to."

"We wouldn't be able to stay _that _long." Roxas pointed out.

"Still," the AI smiled, "I'd like to meet my aunt and uncles."

* * *

**Chapter 20! Review and share! Thanks Layla for Beta! Let me know where you think the story is going or if you like it :D**


	21. Chapter 21

"This isn't the same frame is it?" Sora asked, taking her hand in his to look at the gear work, "Oh, this is pretty original. Did you do this?" He directed to Axel, "I like her facial features." Xion would have blushed if she had blood in her veins or veins at all as the brunet invaded her personal space, "I like _your_ facial features." He smiled softly finally acknowledging that she was a sentient being, "Kinda cute as far as an AI go. Did you choose this hair color?" Sora questioned inspecting the wig, "Nice length. Doesn't interfere with the rest of the system. Good selection."

Like a bee on honey, the taller of the two boys was next, "What's your base code?" He asked her, "Is it cool if I open your hard drive?"

"Here?" Kairi interrupted, "Wouldn't that be better reserved for somewhere more private?"

Riku sulked, "Yeah, I guess."

The robot laughed, "It's fine. You can open me up after my match, considering how much work you put in to help make me me." Riku smiled wide, checking with Axel to see if that was cool. With a nod, the redhead gave his consent.

"So is your guys' match over?" Roxas inquired, looking around. The arena was still full to an extent, but it was as if there was a leak. The crowd slowly trickling away.

"Oh yeah, we've been done since semi-finals." The auburn girl hummed, "But what can you do? We went up against some old friends, and we were toast!"

Riku grumbled a bit, "They knew my attack style to a T and where Sora's defensive measures tend to be weak, so what can we say? Next year we'll have to change a lot of things."

"To progress!" Sora laughed, "To progress, we have to change! And there's nothing wrong with that."

"I guess that means we'll come and watch your guys' round." Riku looked around to his friends to see if they were behind the decision, "Plus, I have someone to introduce you to, Axel."

"Oh?" The redhead took the queue from the older teen that he shouldn't ask any more questions, so he shut up and changed the subject, "Well with this done, what are you guys going to do this summer?"

"I want to go down to Atlantis that huge waterpark on the south side of the city!" Sora exclaimed, "Or maybe we could all come and hang out with you guys at the beach! I have a couple places I'd really like to visit." It wasn't often talked about, but the redhead had learned that at one time Sora's parents had worked for Moshiva. When his dad had found a better job at another company, they were quickly hassled and bullied out of the neighborhood. It didn't change the fact that Sora still had a few ties to the place he had grown up and surprisingly knew quite a few cool spots.

Riku and Kairi nodded, "Yeah! We should all do something!"

Brain struggling for a suggestion to remain part of the conversation, Roxas supplied, "Well why don't we go to the waterpark first where the water is heated, and then the beach once the ocean warms up a bit?"

"Sounds good to me." Sora nodded, "I just want to go swimming. Hey, is your frame waterproof, Xion?" Looking her over, he sighed, "Nah, it's not. Probably was too expensive to make it that way, huh?"

Axel relented, "Can't have all the perks when you're living off mowing lawns and Christmas money."

"Makes sense." Everyone in robotics knew that, "Well alright," Riku stretched a bit, "We might want to go head over to registration. 5B is being serviced, and wouldn't want you to miss check in." It was a short walk, but in it, Riku and the redhead lagged behind a bit to talk, "So you know how you asked about that…thing at Meow's Chow? I got a guy who specializes in that. Kind of a weirdo, and he won't do business today because he's out with his girlfriend, but Marluxia, that's his name, is like _the best _when it comes to nanomachines."

"I don't have the cash for it anyways, Riku. I'm hoping to win this thing, so I can make a payment." Axel pocketed his hands and the two dropped back to a saunter.

The teen ran a hand through his silvery hair, "Yeah, that'd be an issue, and you do realize that-" He paused for a moment to look the other man in his eyes, "You do realize that there's no way to control them. When they work, it's through luck. They're still having issues with coming up for a design for a transmitter. It's hard to get them to leave your system too after you're done with them, and half the time you have to electrocute yourself to kill them off. The person I've seen who's the best with them is Marluxia, but even he's had some accidents."

"I know, and I don't have an issue with that." Axel resisted smirking, "My dad, not that his work was well known for it, he actually put a lot of time in with nanomachines, and I'm not saying that it's a problem solved, but I'm sure if everything goes right, I can make nanos a safe thing to use in the medical field."

Riku's brows scrunched in thought, "So…Is this some design that you're keeping secret or something? Has anyone seen this? Have you been working on it?" For once in his life, the city boy wasn't worrying about the budget or the profit, but of the peoples' lives that could change, "What if this backfires? You're doing this for Roxas, right?"

They were an entitled generation, as had been their parents.

Axel felt like Roxas deserved life.

Roxas deserved life.

There were not enough words in the dictionary or breaths in his body to describe how much Roxas meant to him. He would sift all the salt from the sea, and he'd pluck every star from the sky to fashion a necklace for that pretty cream poured pale neck of the blond. Roxas was like standing out in the snow underneath a streetlight watching it fall, hitting the ground in a silent way. Roxas was the heat from a humid summer day making you feel lazy and loved in a Southern way. Axel would trade an empire for him in an instant. He would fight oceans and hurricanes just to see the other's smile.

And most of all, when Roxas decided to leave, Axel would let him go.

"Right."

Oh the word was soft but it rang true.

"That kid will break your heart."

So true.

* * *

**And Chapter 21 is up. Review! Odd tidbit for those who read this: This document/story is known on my hard drive as 'Let's Get Digital'**

**Yeah, lame I know. Thanks Layla for Beta!**


	22. Chapter 22

Roxas' brain seemed to fade out when the woman at the registration table began to talk. Nothing personal, but he didn't understand most of the words, and it was only important that Axel and Xion were listening. After handing over their card and getting Xion's stuff, all the humans headed up to a waiting area with tables to sit at. "Let's sit over there!" Kairi pointed to two places that no one had claimed yet.

They all knew Xion was going to do well. After all, Roxas had seen her in everyday life, and her capacity to learn, explore, and relate was incredible for an AI. Taking out a deck of cards, Sora surprised them all, "What?" He laughed, "Gotta keep ourselves entertained for an hour."

Axel snorted and offered to shuffle. After one hand of Old Maid, a round of Diamonds, a bit of Solitaire for mostly Riku, they were finally reaching the forty five minute mark. "I guess we can always build card houses." Roxas offered, and he and Sora did so for a bit, seeing how high they could get their feeble paper structures to tower.

While the two younger teens did that, Riku and Axel went over to the ledge not really talking, but instead watched Xion move around the room carefully with their lips pressed into serious lines. She tended to migrate towards one who had more color, but the redhead didn't know what the judges wanted. "I don't know what I'll do if she makes it to round three." He confessed.

Riku twiddled his thumbs for a moment, "Why are you stopping there? Xion could easily take the competition."

"Yeah, I know. Part of me doesn't want her to win." Axel grunted as he took out his cellphone that had begun to buzz in his pocket, "Who is it?" _Mother_ the screen read brightly in a familiar font. 'Honestly,' the redhead laughs to himself, 'Who else would it have been?' Sliding the phone open, he picked up, "Hello?"

Eyes narrowing at the other teen's words, Riku couldn't help but wonder why the redhead was the way he was. What the hell was going on in that head of his? How did Roxas tolerate someone who never seemed to let others know what was going on? …It was not his place to judge, he supposed. It was their relationship, "Kairi, you hungry?" He asked her, fumbling in his back pocket for his wallet.

"Oh! Yes! Very!" She jumped up and gave him a hug, "Uuuum, can I have ice cream?"

"Ice cream?" Sora called from where he was at the table with Roxas, "I want ice cream!"

Roxas' eyes went wide as well. Turning to Axel to ask him if he'd get him some, he saw that he was on the phone and kept his mouth shut. "Really? Again? Why is it whenever we eat out, you guys only want desserts?" Riku laughed, "Don't your parents teach you to be responsible?"

"Oh be quiet! You know that my mom is vegan!" Kairi huffed, "All I do is eat vegetables!"

Sora laughed, "Isn't it my turn to buy anyways?" He stood, "Pardon me, Roxas, but I do think Riku's wallet will weep if we goad him into buying us food again. What flavor do you guys want?"

"Chocolate!" Kairi chirped, "And Riku always wants Orange Sherbet or Dreamcicle if they have it!" If not, Sora knew that he'd settle for chocolate as well.

Laughing a bit, he headed for the stairs, "Alright! I'll be back."

"Oh wait, Sora!" Roxas stood in a rush, knocking over their houses of cards, "…Whoops. Can I come with?"

Sora held in a snort, "Yeah, if you can walk to these stairs without every table flipping over and the building coming down around us."

The blond rolled his eyes and by the time the two had gotten back with all chocolate- "Sorry Riku, they didn't have Orange."- The AI were turning in their sheets.

"So how long do we have to wait?" Roxas mumbled, giving the redhead a hug and offering the ice cream to him.

"Oh, thank you." Axel took a small bite, "Um, at least three hours. The results get in at eleven, and we find out online or tomorrow morning." He pet some blond hair with a slightly moist hand from the condensation that he had picked up from the small plastic cup, "But I have to go meet with someone, okay? You and Xion are heading back to the hotel, alright?"

Roxas quirked a brow, "Who are you going to talk to? If it's just these guys, there's no reason you can't bring me." He puffed up his cheeks and sulked.

"No, Sora and Kairi are going home on the light rail. Riku and I are going to go talk to someone." Uncomfortable with saying anything more, he fed his boyfriend a bite of ice cream, "Don't worry your pretty little head. I'll be home before midnight. My mom already said it's okay." He was glad that his mom requested that Roxas be back before midnight. He didn't want something going wrong and the smaller teen getting hurt.

"Suspicious, suspicious." He mumbled, "But okay." By then, Xion had found them and was looking rather drowsy herself.

"My battery is running low." She explained, "The hotel doesn't have the charge I need, so it's slow business." The AI honestly couldn't wait until she got back to her charger and could get a proper rest.

"Hey, we're heading home!" Kairi beamed, already looking a little less bubbly than earlier. The weight of the day was finally hitting them like a train, "But we'll check the competition sight tonight and see if you made it! If you did, expect us bright and early!"

"Alright!" Xion smiled right back, "Let's hope for the best! Good night, Sora and Kairi."

The brunet laughed, "Dido! G'night, you guys!"

After waving to them, Riku shuffled over to Axel and flicked his eyes over to Roxas to signal it was time to send him home too, "Hey babe, you're taking Xion home. I still have to stay here."

"Yeah, okay." He took the robotic girl's hand, "See you later, Ax."

The walk back to the hotel seemed much longer than the quick pop down to the Event Center like it had seemed that afternoon, "Ugh, my feet hurt." He whined.

"I'd offer to carry you, but I don't know if my frame will support that." Her frame really wasn't all that strong, but it did its only job well which was to get her around to place to place, "What's Axel doing?" She asked curiously as Roxas decided to take a break on a bench.

"I don't know, but I don't like it. He keeps asking about all kinds of shady stuff. Stuff he's not supposed to be talking about." Biting the inside of his cheek, the teen sighed, "Probably has something to do with you or my Panguin." That seemed to be the only two things that Axel stressed about. "Ugh, I have an essay due Monday, and I still have a conclusion to write." He pouted, standing again, "Come on, might as well get home and finish that."

When they got back, the redhead's mother gave them a smile, "Now Roxas, I promised your parents I'd keep an eye on you, so I'm sorry for making you come home early. I know you'd probably rather be out with Axel."

"Nah, it's fine." He shrugged, "I need to finish an essay anyways. Xion needs to charge up too, right?"

The AI nodded and plopped herself down in the corner where the outlet is, "Night, you two."

"Night, Xi." Roxas gave her a little wave.

* * *

"Larxene, come on! I didn't know this was going to turn into business. Baby forgive me." He tried to hug her but was quickly shrugged off. "Larxene, I'm sorry!"

"No! You said this was a day for me! Bullshit!" She was attempting to keep her voice down to a sharp hiss, considering they were already being stared at.

The pink haired man pursued her as she began to walk towards the doors, "Come on, I said I'm sorry. Think of it this way: extra money this month." When the blonde's emotional side started to flare up, she could always be trapped back down with logic.

Shooting Marluxia a broken look, she radiated anger, "Fuck you. Better find somewhere else to sleep tonight."

Fuck.

Well, it wasn't like it didn't happen a couple times a year. Sighing, he went to go sit back down at the table where Riku had texted them that they'd meet. "Hi, nice to meet you, Axel." He shook the redhead's hand when he saw the two teens. It was important to have a one up on the competition and strike first. "I'm Marluxia: supplier for anything and everything." He gave a toothy smile, "So you're looking for some little friends as I've heard it here from Riku."

"I don't have the budget yet, but if I take the competition, yeah, that's the way it's looking." He shrugged. This guy was a tall dude; skinny as fuck too. He looked like a twig. "Came to ask about the frequency they run on and just some general info. As you can imagine, it's a little hard to get books on the things unless you're willing to get caught in a restricted section."

"Frequency? You mean their link signal?" Marluxia supplied.

Axel laughed, "See? That's why I'm here to talk to you, and maybe buy from you."

Brain whirling, he looked the teen over. How long was this going to take? What was he going to do with the nanos? God, what if he got arrested and the things got traced back to him like they almost did with the Danielson's Case? 'Well, either way. Now or later.' The man thought, 'Young as he is. I got this kid sold.'

Hook, line and sinker.

* * *

**Review! Layla was my beta as always :D**


	23. Chapter 23

Roxas hated wasted words. Fillers that flawed and detracted from the idea. He also hated clichés and refused to accept the inkling that his existence might be one.

One of the few things that Roxas did love about writing and the world around them, though, and would mention this to Axel on a regular basis, was that they lived in a digital age. They lived every moment in a modern Enlightenment era where authors, artists, poets, every one of them could transfer thoughts, words, or an image from Hong Kong to London in a matter of moments. In a blink of an eye, the idea for a new form of renewable energy or a book could be in thousands of peoples' hands. To him that was amazing.

Axel would usually agree and said that he hadn't thought about it like that. He would usually say that Roxas was really smart and had a different perspective on things that was unique. Roxas would always feel rather fluffed up and proud when complimented like that.

Another thing that Roxas thought about besides wasted words and their digital age was shoes. Axel would always laugh at him, but would quiet down to listen to what the blond had to say after he got a bit huffy, "Seriously, Axel." He pouted. "The thing about shoes," Roxas always began, "Is that they're a lie." Humans were originally designed to walk toe first to reduce stress on their joints. It wasn't until major shoe companies began to have universities study heel-toe running and walking in the sixties and seventies, that they found it to be 'more energy efficient'. Doctors began to report more injuries with these shoes and style of running, but that was put aside because there were always injuries. In the early twenty-first century, there was a resurgence of barefoot running. The bottom of a human's foot was tough, durable, and easily washable. Toe first running was healthier and better for your joints. Running blogs and articles around the country suddenly started coming out about how this was bad regardless of what people were saying. Awful. Why? Shoe companies were losing business to alternative competition who were making shoes for barefoot or toe first running.

"And if they can get one million people to act one way, to walk one way, to think one way then wouldn't you think that they can get people to do anything? One demonstration of how much our culture is lied to is shoes, Axel! And it's so ingrained in us to wear them that it's not socially acceptable to go barefoot anywhere. Hell, even on the beach we wear flip flops because the sand seems hot, but that's because our feet are weak." The blond laughed, "They've got millions of people walking the wrong way- heel first." To him, when people say that they would have never fallen for Hitler's ploys or would have resisted communism, it just made him laugh and laugh. Hitler was a handsome charismatic man, and sadly, not that he supported what had happened to the Jewish people in anyway, but if he had lived back then, he probably would have been one of the millions of Germans that rallied behind them being deceived until the end.

Every day, they flipped on the television, watched the news channel of their choice, the ads that came with it, and then their favorite shows. "Weird thing about TV, Ax, is that it makes money off you paying for the channels and from people paying to advertise to you. You pay to watch advertisements!" Roxas didn't watch TV. Ever. No exceptions. When he wanted to watch a show, he just waited until the season came out on box set and watched it then. "If you read a lot of news like I do, though, you see trends, ya know? And the media lies and covers things up all the time. They even do it in synch sometimes. Television is one of the most beautiful tools of mass control that I've ever seen other than maybe the gladiator fights. Bread and circuses, ya know?"

The redhead learned a lot of thing with Roxas about thinking outside the system. He learned to resent public education more than he already did when he was told that it was a mechanism of control. He learned to hate roadwork when he found out part of their economic troubles could be cracked up to the fact that the government had AI doing it now, and that the government should hire out to private companies for their roadwork and a lot of other things to be done. He learned that a lot of people thought the same, but too many of them had been pacified and wouldn't fight for their thoughts anymore. They were hooked on safety. The comforts of home and not being under attack were more valuable than the truth.

"When your life doesn't matter to you," Roxas had whispered to him from where he was sprawled out on the floor one night during a sleep over, "You can do anything. "

A thing Axel had also learned about from Roxas about Roxas was that he didn't bother the teachers, he didn't talk down about people just going about their lives, he just silently resisted. He resisted mentally. "Try it. Just try it for a day. When you see something wrong, resist." Eventually Axel found his thoughts to be different. To be his own. And he stopped thinking 'The system is bad' and started thinking, 'How can I change things?' How could we change things? What could the world change?

Axel hadn't been friends with Roxas for a long time. He had been dating him even shorter, but in the time that they had been together, he found himself seeing things in a new light. People who he had originally wrote off as crazy, he gave a little bit more of his attention too.

After all, if people were saying that these loons were crazy, just like the shoes, there must be some truth behind their ideas.

Axel was home before midnight. Just barely.

11: 47, Roxas was already in bed asleep, but the laptop was open beside him.

"How many times did you refresh this page?" He asked the sleeping blond softly as the screen revealed that he was on the competition sight, trying to see if Xion had been selected for the final round. "Well, I guess you'll have good news to wake up to, huh?"

Being with Roxas would never get old.

The two could learn from each other 200 years and it would still be too short of a time.

* * *

**Should be finishing up the competition soon. Review! Layla was my beta.**


	24. Chapter 24

The third round wasn't open to the public, and Axel and Roxas watched from inside a theater with the other technicians, so they could see the remaining ten face off. The challenges were sometimes in the moral gray, and ethics were occasionally trampled on. Would you save a child or its mother? Would you cross the river even though it's dangerous or walk around. Why? Could the AI kill a man if another human's life was at stake? Was the AI appropriately selfish at moments? They had whittled away for hours until they were down to the last three. Some of the people had opted to leave once their robot had been eliminated. A few of their competitors had chosen to stay. With the last three, they had opened up their hard drives and had begun looking at craftsmanship and code. Axel was thankful to the heavens that he had taken out the NC parts.

One was immediately disqualified for using a base, "I'm sorry." They directed to the screen, "But no bases from Moshiva, Oltheleon, Nimbus, or Poltun may be used. This is your first warning. If next year, you are found to use a base again, you'll be barred from the competition." Level 6 and up corporations sponsored this tournament, they didn't want more of their own product. With the other female AI eliminated, Xion and a taller male counterpart were competing for first. "Is this one the measuring stick?" The man in white asked his assistant as they looked over the male AI.

"Yes, so that means…" There was a bit of confusion as the screen turned off and the lights in the theater came on making the blond wince in surprise.

A woman in a blue pantsuit appeared at the side door, "Can Axel Brennant please come with me?"

Roxas watched as his boyfriend stood and smiled down at him, "Meet you in the lobby, love."

"M'kay, congrats and all." A giddy feeling was beginning to build in his chest, and he knew the redhead's mother would be so proud considering she'd been hounding Axel to get into this competition for years. Now, he'd won…Well, he'd done _something_. Roxas wasn't sure if they'd won or not, but he was pretty sure of it. Otherwise they wouldn't have called him back. The term 'measuring stick' stuck out to him. They must have had a corporate sponsored robot to help compare the other AI to? He wondered if in the past they'd accidentally eliminated the measuring stick.

Locating his boyfriend's mother in the lobby, Sora, Riku, and Kairi were present as well. "Hey!" The brunet greeted, "We just got here like…thirty minutes ago. How'd it go?"

"They called Axel back to answer a few questions and stuff, but I think we won. One AI got thrown out for being mostly a base." Roxas shrugged, a large smile breaking out on his face as a tingly feeling broke out across his body.

"That's cool." Kairi beamed, "I know that they only check to see if you're a base at the end because they don't care if it's original or not unless you get to the top three. I think that's kind of cool, but kind of unfair at the same time."

Riku spoke up, "They were having a debate about in on the competition's forums, but they weren't getting enough ground in time to switch it this year. On top of that, if they checked to see if it was a base first, then someone might change out the hardware after it had been checked and then they'd get through the whole competition with something that wasn't theirs."

"I'm in support for checking if it's a base last." Sora shrugged, "If your AI is good enough to make it to the final three, then it shouldn't matter to you if they check. If yours is better than the others, enough to surpass the bases, then you probably took the competition." He laughed.

"True, true." Kairi grinned before raising her hand to point straight at the wall behind them, "Hey look, the TV's are all signaling to head to the stadium."

"Have they already announced the winner of the aesthetics comp?" Roxas questioned, trying to figure out if this was the end of the day.

The redhead's mother nodded, "Yes, they have. This is it and then we're heading home." It'd been a long weekend, and even though he was really excited and the adrenalin was pumping, he couldn't wait to be back in his own bed.

"I wonder if he's going to actually go through with what he said yesterday." Riku muttered, "Turning down a work contract with Moshiva after he gets out of school isn't a smart thing to do. It's not like they'll black list him or cause trouble, but I've heard things from their employees."

Sora rolled his eyes, "Like what?"

"…Never mind." Riku bit the inside of his cheek, "I won't share things if you guys are going to be like that." Out of the three of them, the taller teen had the most connections and information, so Roxas really valued his words. Kairi and Sora had become jaded to the immense amount of knowledge Riku had, though. There was a bit of competitive edge between the two males that sometimes caused friction, so Roxas and Kairi knew to keep their mouths shut at that instant.

About to try and reopen the conversation to hear what Riku had to say, he was interrupted by Axel and some competition officials walking out onto the stage, "_We'd now like to introduce this year's winner of the Reality Composition category._" The woman in blue spoke with authority into the mic. "_This year we are proud to announce that Axel Brennant with his AI, Xion, have taken the competition in this selection. They have been awarded the allotted twelve thousand and if at any time when they chose to accept, a contract with Moshiva._" Roxas hoped he had turned them down politely, "_That concludes 2046's Competition. We hope you enjoyed your time and continue to improve your AI. Have a good year! We hope to see you back here soon._"

"Somehow that was a lot less eventful than I thought it'd be." Roxas muttered under his breath as they went back to the lobby, "Hey, Sora, can I get your guys' numbers?" He asked whipping out his cellphone, so he could get ahold of the three next time they wanted to hang out.

"Oh yeah, sure!" After a quick swap that had killed a small amount of time, Axel and Xion appeared with smiles on their faces.

"Congratulations, Xi!" Kairi was the first to shout, "Queen of AI! Robot of the ages! Conqueror of all!"

"The most beautiful!" Roxas followed with a smile, "The wisest and most wonderful!"

Sora laughed, "An unforgettable indisputable victory!"

"The future of AI." Riku beamed.

"And to Axel!" Sora followed, "Well done!"

The redhead blushed along with Xion and they both giggled nervously for a moment, "We couldn't have done it without all of you!" The robot brushed the hair out of her face, tucking it behind one of her ears, "Honestly, thanks for everything."

"You all helped us out." Axel continued, "You really are the best friends we could ever ask for."

After hugs, and a bit of crying on Kairi's part because she was honestly so happy for Xion (who would have cried too if she could), the groups made their respective goodbyes as Axel's mom directed them to the car. The pleasant thing about cars by their current year was that they were completely computerized and could travel much safer and faster than they had in the past. The driver only had to push in the destination, and then everyone could sit back and relax. The redhead and Xion chattered on about what had happened in the backroom for most of the drive before the Axel decided to text while Xion and Mrs. Brennant took a nap. That just left Roxas there to look out the window in relative silence.

'It hurts.' He touched the spot on his arm which was beginning to bruise. The pain had only started a bit ago, but the burning continued as he gazed out the window. He wished he could have a shot of medication to soothe the fire in his veins. Lost in thought, he tried to distract himself, 'It's only another hour until the car ride is over. I can make it.'

_Thanks for your purchase. They'll be in the mail by next week. If you need any help with them, just text me. – M_

"Roxas, you okay?" Axel asked in concern after he had deleted the texts off his phone, noting the blond had slumped against the window.

In a crippled whisper, he mumbled, "It hurts. It really, really hurts."

Guess he couldn't make it to the end of the car trip after all.

* * *

**Been there. Done that. Got the chap done. Review. Layla. Yada yada. We all know how it goes.**


	25. Chapter 25

"What I'm saying is: innocent people die every day." The man leaned back in his chair, adjusting his glasses, "Like if you think about it, all those people kicking the bucket, every minute, of every day, they had a life, a family, and maybe some of them are old, but if you think about it, a lot of them aren't. Plus, they aren't dying on their own terms. Therefore, if we've come to that conclusion, a lot of innocent people die every day, then worrying about our own death or dying doesn't matter because as they say, 'Everyone meets death in the end.'" He felt pretty pleased with this chain of logic, but his partner who was working on some gear work in a frame simply shook her head.

"Look, I get what you're saying Torm, really I do." Redoing her ponytail that had been slipping, she cranked another piece into the puzzle that needed to be solved, "It simply won't change the fact that I'm not going to go sky diving with my husband. I don't care if fear is irrational and we all meet death in the end. It's my choice. I'll wait for him on the ground."

The blond nodded, "Alright, cool. I can respect that." Another late night made him wonder how his family was, "I really don't like this launch. Everything has gotten so messy, and I hate the idea that there's going to be four million AI that all look and act the same. That's something out of one of those old time sci-fi books. _They'll rise against us and murder us all!" _He laughed, enjoying his joke.

His partner, Motors, arched a brow and glared at him before getting back to work, "It's a wonder you're my vice-captain for this team, how did I ever find you worthy?" She rolled her eyes before joining him in laughter, "Look, as cool as that all sounds, we both know in reality, network control of all of Moshiva's AI can be executed from this lab, and if they ever did, 'rise against us' they'd be shut down in a minute. No harm to anyone else's AI. No harm to the humans."

"Aw, don't explain the logic behind it." He grinned, "You ruin the fun of my imagination." Setting his eyes back on his own frame, he returned to work. "I still feel bad about using Brennant's design. After all this year, we can't code something better? It's a wonder why the company took the risk to send him to South America for networking in the first place. Even after all these years…I guess I shouldn't say anything. You weren't part of the company back then, but it's not the same." Was he already thirty-eight? God, time flew by.

"Nah, it's fine. Most of you old timers are still talking about him, even if it's not all that regularly. I've picked up some really cool stories. I've heard that he was for gender equality in the robotics field since it used to be a major guys' field, but he was a proponent for girls getting into it. I've heard that he was fluent in seven languages, and was one of our top representatives. Over all, he apparently was a really versatile guy. Beyond that, though, he invented the type of code that we commonly use today, so that's… He was just an innovator, I guess. I understand why you guys miss him."

"Motors, you should meet his wife. She works in paperwork now, I think, but she'd like you." Torm shrugged, "So how much longer until launch? What is it? Two weeks now?"

"Well, considering we've already had to postpone launch date because of that incident last week, the higher ups want them out the sooner, the better. How's your son doing? Roxas, right? Didn't he go into the hospital last week?" Talk about stressful, sometimes she almost forgot considering how cheerful her co-worker always was.

"Yeah, he's fine. They're just having to up his dosages. There's not much we can do this next year accept make him comfortable." The man's smile began to slip, "Ya know, his boyfriend took the competition this year. He's really something: Axel. He's actually Brennant's kid, so like father like son. Real…Real good boy, ya know? He's not even dating Rox out of charity like I thought he was at first. Genuinely just likes him. He's been visiting the hospital almost every day after school lately." Torm was starting to get choked up, so he stood to excuse himself.

"No, it's fine." Motors nodded when she saw him asking for permission to leave, "It's fine."

A lot had happened last week.

* * *

Getting Roxas his medication had been a matter of scrambling to wake Axel's mother in a panic. "Pull over."

The nice thing was, she didn't ask questions and did it immediately when she came to, so the redhead could run around back, open the trunk, and tear through their luggage. By the time the bleary older woman had figured out what was going on, Roxas was already being jabbed in the leg with a syringe of whatever the hell kept his heart beating. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." The blond was still rubbing at his arm as if fire ants were crawling beneath the surface, "Are you feeling it? Any better?" He asked, trying to get Roxas' focus off his arm and on him.

The smaller teen just barely stuttered out, "N-No, still hu-hurts."

In a commanding voice, his mother took charge, "Axel, get back in your seat, I'm taking him to the hospital."

Complying, he slammed the trunk door closed after shutting Roxas' door and got back in, "Mom?" He rasped out as he saw her begin dialing.

"I'm calling his parents, Axel. Be quiet and let me take care of this." Putting on her emergency lights, the car's computer processed the request and began to signal to other cars to pull over. "He's fine. He's fine." She assured him after a moment, "Your father got like this too when it got bad." Near the end. Before he died.

He didn't want Roxas to die.

They were in love. Wasn't that supposed to trump everything? Didn't all you need is love?

Xion was still out, and to Axel, that was probably for the best since she sometimes didn't help anything.

They made it to the hospital nearest to Twilight town about twenty minutes after Roxas had gone into his attack. Mr. Torm had been unavailable, so Roxas' mother had been called and met them at the hospital, "How is he? Is he okay?" She asked in a wild panic. Axel was grateful that his mom took her aside to calm her down as he watched the younger teen get carted off on a gurney.

After a few minutes of the two women talking in hushed tones, the older redhead decided it was time to take her son home, "Come on, Axel. Megan said she'd let us know when Roxas is doing better." Opening his mouth to protest, he looked at Mrs. Torm and decided against it.

When they got back home, Xion awoke after being shaken a little, "Oh, hello, Axel. Did you already drop Roxas off?"

His breath caught in his throat, and he nodded, "Yeah, why don't we head upstairs and plug in, alright? I'm feeling kind of tired." Sad. Scared. Alone. Hurting. Of all things, he settled on tired.

He supposed he had learned it from his mom those months after his dad had passed away, "Baby, mama is feeling tired. Not now. I'll play with you later." Protection, he supposed. He wanted to protect her.

"Alright!" Xion chirped as he crawled himself up the stairs, "Love you, Axel. Sleep well."

On a better day, he might have pointed out that robots aren't programmed to feel love.

* * *

"Xigbar?" _Network extension request complete._ "I had a thought about how you could get rid of all the copies. It's going to be difficult, though, with just us." Xion frowned as she mulled her idea over.

The salt and peppered haired man laughed a bit as he adjusted his coat. Difficult and dangerous where two words he lived for, "Lay it on me, Poppet."

Taking a deep breath, she began simply, "Well…"

* * *

**Ha, I missed a week. Oh well. Here's a chapter. Review. Layla betaed. **


	26. Chapter 26

Xigbar had never been to another server before. His creator had no reason to go anywhere in his age, and so, he had stayed. By staying, he had learned the lay of the land. He had watched as canyons, mountains, moons, forests, rivers, oceans appeared and vanished over the years all eventually being swallowed up into the code. The only thing that had stayed constant was him, the sky, and a few others. Even then, they would sometimes go. "Where's O9?" Gone. Pulled the plug. The file corrupted. The system collapsed. Whatever. It happened. No reason to shed tears.

Xigbar shed a tear for Xion, though.

He had been bemused by the network Xion operated in. It was so colorful. Everything his dull dusty world missed, she had built up and out. "Most of them lack this: imagination. That's why my network is so boring." He smiled pushing leaves out of the way as the two started along an animal path, "Did you code all of this?"

"As you said, most of them are fine with whatever is here. They're just hanging out in their off time before they wake up and serve their humans, but a few of us, the customs and the Level 6 and ups tend to find enjoyment in making the world around us. Creating. It's a nice…feeling." The word rolled around her mouth like a glass marble, colorful and shiny, "Yes, I coded most of this area here, but the animal paths were something…A friend of mine liked to add." Xion only did it in memory of Namine,  
"Anyways, I'm glad you were granted a network extension."

"I'm just baffled by the fact that your home network is the same network that Moshiva uses." The older man snorted, "Who would have known you were a little traveler?"

Laughing a bit, Xion shook her head, "I feel a little bit bad about going to dismantle their launch code, though. It's practically vandalism and murder if you look at it two ways. The first way is we're ruining a product: vandalism, but because we're also AI…Doesn't ruining them count as murder?" A moral battle was beginning to awaken within her before Xigbar shook his head and gave his point.

"No, when you kill someone, you end an existence. This is one existence, one file that they've copied over and over again. If anything, it's an act of rebellion to show that we're protesting their unimaginative cost effective launch." His gold eye swung up to the sky, "Do you understand?"

"I guess. Humans count murder as when you extinguish a soul. That's why abortion is such a big issue with them." She shrugged, "Why don't you ever code anything in your network? You spend plenty of time in _The Database._" She was beginning to wonder if Xigbar even had a shell.

"At first I did." The man grunted as he popped his jaw, "But the longer I've been here, the less enamored by it all I am. I mean I remember when World War 3 started. Sometimes soldiers don't get offline right and parts of them get stuck wayward in _The Database_ never to return. They're ghosts. They tell me stories about their lives before they begin to fade. I had the honor of talking to a very powerful human man once. He told me things are changing out there. That it's as hard to be a human as it is to be an AI. What kind of world are they creating for themselves out there? For some reason, I'm alright with the emptiness. The emptiness is easy to understand. You have to go through it like a ship through a sea. When there's all this nature and beauty like this, you have to process, understand, and appreciate. I'm just not there anymore. Not that I don't like what you've done with the place, but I wouldn't want to duplicate anything I've seen here at home."

Xion laughed softly, "You remind me of my human. He talks exactly the same way about how hard it is for AI and humans." Different though, the two were definitely different. "Do you have a shell Xigbar?"

"No." He answered before quickly adding, "And it's not that I don't want one…I guess it's just best that I come clean with you, Poppet, considering how we need to trust each other. I'm not your average AI."

"Well neither am I." She snorted.

"No, I mean…You know how we're worried about you getting deleted if a virus infects the copies? I told you that self-preservation is a great motivator, and I'm not like you. I don't have a file." He admitted, hands slightly shaking.

Cocking a brow, she stopped walking, "What do you mean?" Her tone had switched from light hearted to serious. "What are you trying to say?"

"Xion… I'm human." Watching her face, he saw the chaos that had begun to rage inside her processor. "Hear me out!" He raised his hands in surrender, "Just hear me out. I promise it will all make sense."

She demanded to have a full story, and so he gave it to her once they were in _Twilight Town_ where they could comfortably take a seat, "You see I was part of the original upload, back when humans were trying to transcend the mortal realm and become immortal. Most of the people failed due to lack of knowledge or faulty equipment, but a few of us succeeded. Most of my teammates who also made it are gone now through bugs and the others that are left have gone into hiding or are so far into my network I can't find them anymore. Now it's just me, the customs, and the clones." He sighed, "And that's cool, don't get me wrong, but I'm afraid of dying just as much as you are. I want to live. I'm worried that the copies may cause a network collapse because there's so many of them. Not really a big deal, right? I mean if you're backed up on your human's computer, even you'll come back, Poppet. Me though? I'm not even a file. I'm a block of code floating in space. I'll be gone if the network goes down. You're part of _The Database _and network if that makes sense. I'm just part of the network." He shrugged.

Taking a moment to respond, Xion bit her lip, "I guess it makes sense now why you don't consider ending all those AIs as murder…I mean how could you see killing something like us wrong, if you're not one of us." She laughed bitterly.

"No, no, don't look at it like that." He sighed, "I'm trying to help you!"

"You're trying to help yourself!"

"No." The man stated, "I'm not. Think of this logically!"

"I am! I can't think of it any other way!" She screamed, "I'm a computer! That still doesn't mean that I'm not weirded out! God, what kind of human would become _code_!? Do you know how much I want what you _had_!?"

Taking a moment, Xigbar's one good eye reflected the light and seemingly flashed, "That's it, _isn't _it? You want to be _human_." Xion's mouth gaped as she tried to figure out what to say. "No, it's fine. I get it. Look, Poppet, we all need to follow our dreams. You want to be human. I want to stay alive. It's not murder, alright? Look…Can you please just help me?" Even if she didn't, Xigbar had heard the plan and could do it on his own.

Xion wondered if this is what it was like to be human. To feel hurt, but still want to remain friends with someone, so you had to forgive them. She didn't know if she wanted to let this go, though…She was so confused. Reluctantly, the smaller robot nodded, "Alright, but after this, we're going to have a talk."

"Fine by me." He snorted, breaking out into a grin.

~o~

"See the clock tower?" She pointed, "That's all Moshiva's code. I just recoded around it."

"See the clock tower," Xigbar laughed, "It's a little hard to miss. Explain to me what we're doing one last time."

Grumbling, she stuck her tongue out, "Really? You need me to repeat it _again?_"

"It'd be nice, but I got the gist: I'm distraction. You'll do the dirty work, right?" He quirked a brow.

Nodding, she approached the wall, dropping the remodeling she'd done, so the bare code was exposed, "Try and run fast if any firewalls or anti-virus software find you." She winked.

"Yeah right…" He rolled his eyes, reaching out to touch the data, "I should be saying that to _you_. Don't get caught, Poppet."

"And what if I do, huh?" She sang, "Gonna rescue me?"

Xigbar snorted, "Only if you need me too."

"Like that would happen."

~o~

"We have a breech." One of the technology security personnel managed as he set down his coffee to begin patching any holes that were made.

"Alright, what sector?" A woman called from the other side of the room. They had somewhat expected it considering how soon launch was going to be.

"They're already on level C."

"Jesus, alright." Moshiva's walls of security were given letters, and A was only for top level employees. Most of the security personnel only had B access at best.

"Can you see what they're looking for?" The manager on the floor asked, taking a seat as well to help.

"No, they're sifting through a lot of code really fast." God, he wished his HTML was significantly better at times like this. "I've been hit by two viruses." He switched computers as the hard drive on that one crashed.

"I'm down over here too." One of the men across the room called, moving one over.

"I've blocked off most of D, E, and F." Someone called, "Sending out my own drones."

"Mine too."

~o~

"Can you work any faster?" Xigbar asked, taking out a rifle to begin shooting of the drones as they appeared. Building up his wall, he covered Xion best he could as she continued to plug in.

"Don't distract me." She mumbled, stripping a layer away and annihilating it in a moment, "I found the file." The robot yanked at the stream of code to bring it closer to herself, so she could access it. Namine. Namine (1). Namine (2). Namine (46,783). Delete. Delete. Delete. Of course it wasn't called Namine, it was under the name Project 7, but that only pissed her off more. Her friend was reduced to a number. A number. "God, what is wrong with people."

"Xion!" Her brain snapped away from what she had been working on to turn to Xigbar, "Look out!"

A drone had slipped past him and the giant gray bot was zooming towards her, "Xigbar! Help!" Her voice came out in a frail scream as she watched it close in, not having enough time to switch away from the file and defend herself.

Wasn't this all supposed to keep her from dying?

Somewhere in the back of her code, the idea that a few sacrifices had to be made for a revolution sparked, but then her file was corrupted and everything stopped. 'What will Axel think tomorrow when I don't wake up?' She wondered.

Xion wouldn't ever find out.

~o~

"We eliminated the issue, but we lost most of the merchandise in the local area." The manager reported in, "Nothing in the Asian or European branches was affected, though."

"That's good." Torm let out a long groan, "I guess we're really going to have to go through and reprogram all those bots."

Fuck. It just wasn't his week.

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**Review :D Thanks Layla for Beta.**


	27. Chapter 27

Xion's death was not the tragedy of the century. In fact, when her shell didn't start up that morning, Axel shook his head, went to the computer, and began reloading her file into the twisted piece of metal that represented the only friendship he still had left within Twilight Town. With the promise of a download taking four hours, he picked up his back pack and headed to the hospital grateful that today was Saturday because he could feel the ball of stress growing tighter and tighter with this incident piled on top of his boyfriend's hospitalization and finals.

Roxas was still blissfully asleep when he got there. "I hope you like puzzles." The redhead mumbled taking a seat and sweeping back sun kissed highlights. Thank the powers in heaven that the younger teen got released tomorrow.

Sleepy eyes fluttered for a moment before finally opening like the first curtains of a play. The action behind them portrayed a fearfulness that might only be seen in small animals, but when they noted the redhead was there, the blond closed them again, "Morning." A dry voice grunted, rolling onto his back.

Axel had always found the fact that Roxas slept on his side adorable, "Morning, I brought you a puzzle."

"Thank ye, I do enjoy my puzzles. Is that all?" He asked batting long lashes flirtatiously.

"What do you mean 'that's all'?" The redhead chuckled, "I didn't know I was supposed to bring anything more."

Roxas gave him a hurt look, "No kisses?"

"Does the doctor say the kisses are okay?" He countered.

"I'm dying. The doctor can say whatever he wants. They're not going to change anything." Rocking forward, he connected their lips in a beautiful display of morning breath and poor technique.

Axel couldn't have cared less.

They spent three hours together doing a puzzle of a scenic field before the redhead finally revealed the homework that the teachers wanted the blond to do, "I mean it's not really hard to figure out who to give it to when I draw your name in the margins with hearts around it." He teased.

"So romantic." Roxas rolled his eyes before looking at the pile with a disgusted sneer, "We meet again logarithms."

Laughing a bit, Axel also passed the teen his laptop, "So you can continue writing, monsieur."

Giving the redhead's hand a kiss, he chuckled, "So much stuff and I'm getting out tomorrow. Oh you spoil me. Merci, senor."

"Senor is Spanish, Rox." Axel snorted.

"I know."

~o~

By the time he'd gotten home, the incident at Moshiva was on the news and Xion was almost done being reawaken. "You feeling okay princess?" He asked the AI when her blue eyes blinked twice, mechanical shutters covering them before opening again.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She laughed, "Man, it's so amazing to finally be out of the computer, Axel! I'm so excited! Everything is better than I could have imagined!"

The words registered their weight in the redhead's mind and he realized that this Xion was not the backed up file he had been keeping on his portable. He must have accidentally put the base file back in her, "Hey, mind going back to asleep for a little while?" Axel asked softly, "There's a couple more things I have to tweak, 'kay?"

Sorry about killing you again.

~o~

Gasping, Xion struggled wildly for a moment before she processed everything, "A-Axel?" She asked, clambering to her feet.

"Y-Yeah, are you oka-?" He was cut off by a hug. This was his Xion. This was the friend he had lost, "You didn't wake up this morning." He whispered softly, petting her hair.

If she could have cried, Xion would have. Giggling a bit, she held back a simulated sob, "I never thought I would. I was in _The Database _and I…Well, I _died _Axel." Holding him tight, she promised to never let something like that happen again, "And even though I'm back now. This me isn't me."

She never wanted to be killed again.

Axel didn't bother her for details when the AI didn't say anything more, "Just be careful next time." He frowned, shuffling off to finish an essay for finals. The work load at the end of the year always crushed him making him tired and inactive. It was almost like the school system didn't want him to have any free time for himself.

"Is Roxas coming over soon?" She asked laying back down on his bed.

Facing away from her, he was free to bite his lip in worry, "No," He told the truth, "Roxas is busy with homework too."

"Oh okay." She played with one of the little mechanical toys the other had made as a child. "Are we going to finally go to the beach after the school year ends?"

"Yeah Xion, we will."

~o~

Roxas' system had another failure, and so he was forced to remain in the hospital for another week. He lost fourteen pounds, "Ugh, I'm mega thin now."

Holding the blond's hand, he brought the back of his boyfriend's palm to his lips, "Well that's not good." Thank goodness Roxas had been discharged finally, "Why don't I take you out for a burger and fries?"

"And milkshakes?" The teen arched a brow.

Faking that it pained him to spend that much, he reluctantly sighed, "And milkshakes."

"I would have eaten more in the hospital!" Roxas claimed, "It's just the food was gross!"

"Oh yeah," The taller teen nodded, "I saw what they were serving you. Salad, spaghetti, pudding cups. That must have been tough on you."

Shooting him a playful glare, he bumped the older boy with his hips, "Wow, you're driving me home. My parents are crazy and your mom trusts you too much. How do they know that I'm not going to lure you to Moonlight Cove and bend you over for some romance?" He chuckled.

Rolling his eyes, Axel snorted at the idea of them heading to Moonlight Cove. It was a very renowned locals' spot due to the amounts of kids that had been caught practicing their night moves there, "Bending me over wouldn't be romantic, Roxas. If you're going to take my virginity, at least do it face to face."

"Ooooh? Is that the only rule I need to follow?" Pulling Axel down for a kiss before they got into the car, blue eyes searched his for permission, "I love you."

Pulling his boyfriend into a hug, the redhead rested his face in duck fluff hair before crying a bit, "I love you too, Rox."

That's why every morning for the last week, he'd gotten the mail and would continue to do so until his package arrived.

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**We're approaching the 40,000 word mark. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. I'm really excited to give you the rest of this story. Layla betaed as always. I'm going to try to get back to regular updates. :D**


	28. Chapter 28

The most boring people talk the most, Roxas had learned. It was a simple fact, and his teachers proved it almost comically as they droned on about having a safe summer and 'be careful's. "What do they think I'm going to do?" The blond laughed after the final bell, "Jump off a cliff?"

"Wrestle a bear?" Pence offered.

Hayner shook his head before volunteering, "Nah, Roxas, the real truth is they all know you're going to kill a man."

"Oh?" An eyebrow arched, "Well, how dubious of me. Maybe I'll become Agent 007 while all of you guys are away off at band camp." He snorted.

"Hard to believe we're almost juniors." Olette hummed changing the subject, "We're going to finally be upperclassmen!"

Pence nodded, "It's going to be great! Remember when we were just incoming freshmen?"

Gossiping on in that warm flow of nostalgia again, Roxas spotted Axel waiting for him down the hall and broke away from his friends, "Have a good summer!" He called back to the three of them, "Call me!"

"We will, Rox! Be safe! Have a good summer!" Laughter never felt so sweet, so utterly free, but those first few minutes of summer tended to have that effect.

"Hey, handsome." He cooed, "Are you excited for summer?" What a boring question: obviously everyone was.

"I'm going to be a senior." Axel managed dully, "I feel like I should be more excited, but I'm not." Taking Rox's hand, the two headed for their bus.

"Why's that, babe?" He asked softly trying hard to not let his boyfriend's bad mood ruin his.

"Because…What am I going to do next, Rox? I don't want to go to college. I don't know _what_ I want to do, but…" Sighing, the redhead sat down in his usual seat and Roxas perched next to him.

Thinking hard about what to say, the blond decided to push the future off for a later time, "Hey, let's not worry about that now, alright? It's summer! It's you last truly _free _summer. Let's do everything you want to do. Why don't you come with me down to my grandparents' to the lake? I could use some company. We can go boating, and we can camp in the woods. It'll be nice, very relaxing." He promised.

Axel's nanos had finally come in the mail a few days ago, and he'd been working to assimilate them with Xion's code. The program left behind by his father truly was remarkable, but it still needed a bit more work. "Rox, I have work here to do though." It's for you. I'm trying to save you…The redhead resisted sighing again. There were words he just couldn't say. 'You're limited on time. You're dying.' That would go over well, yeah right.

"What? More programming and stuff? You've been doing that ever since I got out of the hospital. Finals are over and you need a break! Come play with me." He pleaded, "It's just two weeks…"

"Rox, I-" God, the blond had mastered the look of 'kicked puppy'. "You little cheat." He huffed, "Fine. I'll come. Your grandparents are cool with the fact that you're gay, right?"

The shorter teen waggled his brows, "They don't know which means we'll have to be sneaky and it'll be double the fun."

Rolling his eyes, Axel watched as the blond stood once they had reached his stop, "Go home and pack. I leave in two days. My grandparents and parents are totally cool with it."

"Alright, fine, fine. I'll come. I'll ask my mom tonight."

Laughing a bit, Roxas hummed, "See you, babe."

"See you."

~o~

The smell of stagnant water made Axel's nostrils flair, and the humidity curled his hair as soon as they stepped out of the airport to find Roxas' grandfather who was waiting in the car for pick up, "If I was any vainer, I'd go and buy a straightener." He grumbled deciding to put his hair up in a ponytail instead.

"At least you have the build to pull off long hair." The blond stated as his eyes busily scanned the roadway, "It'd just come off feminine on me."

"I like that your hair is shaggy, though. It looks good on you." Axel hummed, "God, is it going to smell like this the whole entire time we're down here?"

"Welcome to the lands where the only thing harsher than the humidity is the heat and stank in the summer." Roxas chortled, "Oh, hey! He's over there!" The blond pointed leading Axel over.

After loading up their bags, Axel sat back and answered questions as the younger teen chatted with his grandparents, "Nana, I brought you a gift from the city. I'll show you it when we get home. Pa, I brought you something you'd like too."

The redhead already knew what they were, and he couldn't help but sigh at how thoughtful Roxas was. His grandmother liked reading, so he brought her a gift card for the bookstore, and his grandfather (according to Roxas who said, "He really doesn't need any more power tools.") was receiving a gift card for the local tool shop.

Both of the blond's grandparents were rather cheery people with a mix of old fashioned and modern values, "I try to keep up with the fashion and such." Mrs. Torm commented patting her hair when Roxas said she looked nice that afternoon, "So Axel, what do you do? I heard you're into AI and such."

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded, "But nothing all that interesting." Roxas rolled his eyes and elbowed him.

After small talk and the two sizing Axel up as okay, they settled on discussing what they were going to do while down there, "There's water skiing, boating, fishing, you can camp out on the island in the lake, you can go hiking…Really whatever you want." Roxas' grandmother smiled as the two got out of the car, "But of course, only if you feel like it Roxas. I know you just got out of the hospital, baby."

Holding in a snort, Axel helped his boyfriend with the bags by carrying them to the room that they were going to share, "Thanks, Nana. I've actually been feeling much better as of late, so Axel and I will manage to at least do a couple things." Roxas hugged her and his grandpa before heading up the stairs after the redhead. Closing the door, he gave the taller teen a suggestive look.

"A queen sized bed?" Axel whistled, "Fancy."

"The better to cuddle you, my dear." The blond teased emptying out his suitcase looking for a comb, "They're expecting us downstairs in a few minutes for dinner." He hummed, "Which means we have a minute or two for ourselves." Combing his hair back, he turned and waggled his brows.

Looping his arms around the smaller boy's waist, Axel rolled his eyes, "If you want to kiss, you should just say so." He connected their lips for a several lush seconds, "It's a little bit too late to do anything today, but we should go hiking tomorrow. I think camping out on the island will be fun, but we need to prepare a tent and stuff first."

Roxas' cheeks were dusted with a faint blush, and he nodded slowly, "Axel…I know we've only been dating for a couple months now, but…I want to…I want to have sex with you." He confessed, "This next week. When we go camping out on the island." He stated as he filled up with an odd sense of courage, "I even brought condoms and lube if you're worried about that."

"Um well…I dunno, Rox." Axel flushed as well, "I don't…I love you and all, but I'd rather wait a bit longer." He wasn't quite comfortable taking their relationship to that level with all that had happened recently.

"Oh..." The blond mumbled, "That's cool."

"I love you." The redhead reconfirmed, "I really do. It's nothing against you, babe. It's me."

"Love you too." He began about to say something else before being cut off by a noise from downstairs; his grandmother shouted something up at them, but he couldn't quite make it out, "Hungry?" Roxas asked deciding to use it as an opportunity to change the subject.

Laughing a bit, Axel pecked the boy's cheek, "Starving."

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**We broke 40,000~ Layla betaed. I'm very grateful to my readers. Thank you! Review!**


	29. Chapter 29

They spent their days by the lake where the sky was blue, the sun was warm, and the water was red from iron rusting in the dirt under their feet. Roxas fell in and out of awareness. One moment he and Axel would be having a conversation about the interesting variety in the dragonflies that occupied a stand of reeds in the muddy bank that lead into the next door neighbor's yard; the next, they'd be done with the day and hiding underneath the sheets to whisper sweet words to one another. "What was your dad like?" The blond murmured.

"My dad?" Axel inhaled some, "Well he was…He was a great guy. Everyone liked him. They looked at him like he was the sun, and when he left, they took what they could. Moshiva is pretty good at doing that; they turn a profit from anything they can."

Roxas rolled his eyes, "They're a corporation, Axel, of course they do." Moving his hand up the redhead's ribs, he found the skin there warm and smooth, "I love you."

Soft lips connected on and off for a few silent minutes, "I love you too." He turned over to allow the blond to spoon him.

The blond pet Axel for a bit until he was asleep, but instead of following the redhead into slumber, Roxas laid awake pondering the near future. There was so much happening so fast. He was barely back on his feet and life was barreling towards them. Axel's mom (maybe) had a new boyfriend and the redhead was worried about that, his boyfriend had confessed to him about the recent Xion incident, and his dad's work had been busier than ever.

Sighing, he wished that he could get a grip on things or at least catch up. Everything was simply going by so quickly. 'I guess that's what those adults always mean…You need to enjoy the happy moments while they're here before they're simply memories you long for.' Roxas sighed to himself watching the moon reveal itself from outside his window.

Only a few days later were they back home trying to figure out what to do. "Oh!" The younger teen finally remembered, "We should call Sora, Kairi, and Riku!"

The three were scheduled out with family stuff for a while longer, but they all found a day where they could make it to the beach. Of course, Xion, on her first trip ever, accompanied them. Before Axel could even nag her about touching the water, she was off with Roxas and Kairi to scavenge for seashells. Sora and Riku tugged him off to go look for star fish and crabs. "Man, last time, I got pinched when picking one of these things up." Riku grumbled.

"Aren't they cool, though?" The brunet asked, poking a jelly fish that they had found with a stick.

Axel needed clarification, "Pinched or _stung_? There's a difference. You're lucky you didn't die."

"Oh, stung then." Riku nodded, "And you're right, but I didn't mean too. I was playing blitzball with Sora while barefoot and accidentally stepped on it."

"You should have told me." Sora snorted, "I would have peed on it for you."

The redhead laughed while Riku rolled his eyes, "Not even, you would have whined. 'Riku, I can't just _pee_ on _demand_.'" He chuckled.

"Oh _whatever_." The shortest of the three rolled his eyes.

The afternoon passed quickly with complaints of sunburn by Kairi who had wanted to get tan and Roxas being crowned king of the sand castle. "I'm so sleepy." The blond cooed, cuddling up against his boyfriend as they got back in the car, "Xion, are you tired?"

"A bit. My battery is pretty drained." She sighed, "Thank you, Axel!"

"Anything for you, Xi." He pet the blond's hair as he drove them back and dropped Roxas back off at home, "Bye, babe. See ya later."

"You mean like tomorrow?" The blond quirked a brow.

Axel laughed, "Yeah. Like tomorrow."

Or not.

Roxas was understanding when Axel didn't answer the door and then texted him several hours later saying he was busy with research.

And would continue to be.

For five weeks.

"You've lost weight." Roxas noted when he saw his boyfriend again for their first date in over a month. They'd gotten together a few times since then, but their time together was always short and Axel was distracted. "Happy Fourth of July!"

"Happy Fourth of July indeed." He kissed the blond, "I'm sorry I've been a jerk and haven't been around." Handing Roxas some sparklers, he hoped the bouquet of fire sticks would do.

"It's fine. Are you done with researching whatever you're looking at now?" Roxas had a pretty good idea of what his boyfriend was studying behind closed doors, but he made his suspicions a secret to Axel.

The taller teen nodded, "Yeah, I'll have more time for my cute lil' Roxas now." He teased, nuzzling the soft yellow puffs of hair, "Love you, Rox." The redhead sang.

Laughing softly, he tugged him off for fireworks.

The beginning of school approached too quickly for the teens. Roxas complained during back to school shopping, and Axel agreed. "I have Ms. Berkovitz for math."

"Ugh, she's the worse." The redhead huffed, "I wish we still had math together. Why didn't you take AP Chem with me?"

"Because my AP English class is filled to the brim, so I transferred to third period, and that's the only AP Chem they had left." Plus there'd be so much homework, and Roxas abhorred chemistry.

Axel sighed, "That means I only get to see you at lunch and on the bus home." He looked over a couple binders.

"But that's enough, ya know? Like if we had class all day together, we wouldn't have anything to talk about."

"I guess." He pouted.

The sound of a school bell was the most soul crushing sound to Axel by now, his senior year. "Why can't we just graduate yet?" He asked Casey, a girl who sat next to him in English. "Aren't we ready for college yet?"

"Who knows? Don't rush it, Axel." She worked on organizing her papers, "After all, who really wants to be out in the real world yet?"

In a year, there'd be no school, no job, maybe college, and possibly no Roxas. Giving his classmate a weak smile, he agreed with her.

Who really wants to be out in the real world yet?

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**Soooo it's been a while, but school was starting and stuff? Review! Layla for Beta! If you review, I love you forever~ :3**


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